10th June 2025 marked the official start of vaccination in the control arm of the IMVACS clinical trial in Dioïla district, Mali.
Just two days earlier, on June 8th, a shipment of 9,000 doses of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine had arrived in the district.
By June 9th, the doses were distributed across the Dioïla’s eight health areas: Degnékoro, N’gara, Falani Central, N’Tjila Finiana, N’Tobougou, Siankoro, Togo, and Wocoro.
To ensure maximum coverage and accessibility, vaccination in the control arm is being implemented through a dual strategy in Mali:
- Fixed Strategy: Parents or caregivers bring the children to health centers for vaccination on designated days.
- Advanced Strategy: Health workers travel from the health facilities to vaccinate children in villages.
Vaccination sessions at health centers are held once a week, while the remaining days are dedicated to outreach visits to surrounding villages. Each health facility is responsible for covering the villages within its catchment area, visiting one or more villages daily as part of the advanced strategy.
On-site to lead the launch of the trial was Professor Kassoum Kayentao from the University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB). As the Principal Investigator for the Mali trial site, he engaged directly with parents and caregivers, explaining the goals of the IMVACS study and the clinical trial protocol, supporting informed community involvement and trust in the process.
Informed consent is obtained in the presence of Consent Agents and field supervisors, and is recorded through either a signature or fingerprint, depending on the parents’/caregivers’ literacy level. Once consent is provided, children are officially enrolled and receive their first dose of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine, administered by trained health staff.
This first day of vaccination was a resounding success, with strong community participation and well-coordinated field activities. The positive response and high turnout have laid a solid foundation for the coming weeks of vaccination, advancing the ongoing mission to evaluate and expand access to effective malaria prevention strategies in vulnerable populations.
