Malaria vaccine: Is preventive medication still necessary for children?

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Extract from the article: My child has received the malaria vaccine. Does he or she still need to take preventive medicines? This is a legitimate question that some parents may ask: « If my child has been vaccinated, why should I still give them medicine to prevent malaria? »

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My child has received the malaria vaccine. Does he or she still need to take preventive medicines? This is a legitimate question that some parents may ask: « If my child has been vaccinated, why should I still give them medicine to prevent malaria? »

The vaccine helps the body better defend itself against malaria. It stimulates the immune system so that it can recognize the parasite and respond when exposed to it. However, the immune response to the vaccine may vary from one child to another and may also change over time.

Chemoprevention works differently. During periods when children are particularly exposed to mosquito bites, it helps maintain the preventive medicine in the body. If a malaria parasite is transmitted through a mosquito bite, the medicine can act on the parasite before it multiplies enough to cause the disease.

The two approaches therefore complement each other: the vaccine strengthens the body’s defenses, while chemoprevention acts directly against the parasite. Using them together helps strengthen children’s protection during periods when the risk of malaria is high.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that malaria vaccines be used alongside other prevention interventions, including chemoprevention and mosquito-control measures.

However, prevention does not stop with medication. Even after vaccination and chemoprevention, children must continue to be protected against mosquito bites. Specialists therefore recommend sleeping under an insecticide-treated mosquito net every night, using repellents when advised, and keeping the environment clean, particularly by eliminating stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed.

If a child develops a fever, parents should not assume that vaccination or chemoprevention necessarily rules out malaria. The child should be taken promptly to a health facility for proper assessment and, if necessary, testing.

Source: (Health Bulletin: Dr Aristide Djiguimde, pediatrician, Tengandogo University Hospital, Burkina Faso)