Expert panel says India doesn't meet criteria for Malaria Vaccines: MoS Health

They asked whether the vaccine has received regulatory approval for use in the country.

They also asked if so, the details thereof, along with the timeline for its rollout;

They inquired if not the time by which it is likely to be available in the market;

They asked the manner in which the said development is likely to be helpful in India’s Malaria Elimination goals under the National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME); and

Furthermore, they seek to know the steps taken/being taken by the Government to ensure access, affordability, and large-scale deployment of the vaccine, particularly in highly affected regions?

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In response to these queries, MoS Smt. Anupriya Patel clarified that, “The matter for use of Malaria vaccine in the context of India has been reviewed in a duly constituted expert committee, which recommended that India does not fall within the criteria for adopting Malaria vaccines as the vaccines are used for moderate to high transmission settings with a risk of Malaria deaths in children.”