Expert panel has recommended that India doesn't fall within criteria for adopting malaria vaccines: Govt

An expert committee has recommended that India does not fall within the criteria for adopting malaria vaccines as they are used for moderate to high transmission settings with a risk of deaths in children, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel was responding to a question on whether India's first malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, has been co-developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India and if the vaccine has received regulatory approval for use in the country.

"The matter for use of Malaria vaccine in 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," she said in a written reply.