Malaria vs Covid

[ellenrr]

wonder why the scientific community, ie the pharmaceutical industry, comes up with a covid vaccine in a matter of months.

Take a bow, folks.

But for decades cannot come up with a vaccine to prevent malaria, or at least prevent malaria deaths. (409,000 in 2019).

hmmmm...

[snpsmom]

1. Virus

that can be treated with relatively new CRISPR biotechnology vs. a protozoan with a complex life cycle may be part of the reason.

[soothsayer]

2. These new developments in vaccine making hold promise for malaria

They’re saying.

But I get your point.

[hlthe2b]

3. Malaria is a blood-borne parasite. COVID-19 is a virus. I have colleagues who have worked on

malaria vaccine for decades; likewise a vaccine for dengue (also a virus with four major serotypes which do not confirm immunity to each other). All of these present unique challenges. As all viruses are not alike in terms of vaccine challenge (we still don't have an HIV vaccine either I should add), so too are vaccines presented with unique challenges in targeting parasitic or bacterial organisms.

Please don't make such a simplistic assumption to suggest researchers are intentionally allowing malaria to flourish. It is not merely intensely wrong, but obscene, IMO.

Why has COVID-19 been considered such an emergency for vaccine development? Because it is highly infectious and deadly via respiratory-spread and thus went pandemic in a matter of months. Malaria kills a lot of people, just as HIV and dengue does in areas where endemic. However, there are ways to prevent this spread via mosquito vector control (malaria and dengue) along with behavioral interventions to prevent infection and there are both preventive and therapeutic treatments (malaria). Thus a lot of $$ has gone in this direction, just as it has for prevention efforts and treatment for HIV.

These are simply not comparable to make such assumptions.