ATLANTA—The RTS,S/AS01 candidate malaria vaccine — being tested in seven African countries — is safe, and gave protection to a third of all babies vaccinated between the ages of six and 12 weeks during the first year of follow up. These findings were announced at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, by Dr Patricia Njuguna from the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Kilifi, Kenya and Dr John Lusingu of the National Institute for Medical Research in Tanga, Tanzania. The researchers explain that — together with previous findings in children vaccinated between five and 17 months of age —these interim results demonstrate that RTS,S/AS01 could become an important component of malaria control combined with other measures including effective treatment and the use of insecticide-treated bed nets.