Fig. 1: Study design.
Participants received either RTS,S/AS02A or a comparator vaccine administered at month (M) 0, M1 and M2. Blood samples were collected at baseline (M0), 2 weeks after the third dose (M3), and 6.5 months after the third dose (M8). 743 children were enrolled in cohort 1 (Manhiça, low malaria transmission intensity [MTI]) and followed up by passive surveillance to detect clinical malaria episodes as endpoint, and 131 were enrolled in cohort 2 (Ilha Josina, high MTI), where participants received a combination of amodiaquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine 14 days before the third vaccine dose to clear asymptomatic parasitemia, and were followed up using active detection of infection during 4.5 months starting 2 weeks post-vaccination to measure vaccine efficacy against infection.
