It is good news to many parents as Kenya will become the first country in the world to introduce the malaria vaccine next month.
At least 120,000 children will get the vaccine in select hospitals in Kakamega, Vihiga, Bungoma, Busia, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori and Siaya.
The vaccine Mosquirix will be given to children aged six months to 24 months in four doses.
The four doses will be administered at six, seven, nine and 24 months through an injection on the upper arm.
The Ministry of Health is expected to formally make the announcement any time.
The pilot roll-out will assess the feasibility of delivering four doses in real-life settings, and assess the vaccine’s potential to reduce child deaths.
The pilot has faced various delays as it was first scheduled for October last year.
“We may have been over-optimistic with the timelines,” David Schellenberg, scientific adviser to the World Health Organization’s Global Malaria Programme, said recently.
WHO is supporting the introduction of the vaccine in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi.
The pilot will be complete by 2021, but researchers will continue monitoring feasibility and safety until 2022.
The results will help Kenya decide whether or not to adopt the vaccine and make it part of routine immunisation.
Last year, head of malaria control Ejersa Waqo said the children will still need to take the usual malaria control