Needle-free, spirulina-produced Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite vaccination provides sterile protection against pre-erythrocytic malaria in mice

Plasmodium parasites caused 241 million cases of malaria and 627,000 deaths in 2020, with 95% of the burden in the WHO African region1. Recent reports2,3,4 suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic is further exacerbating the burden of the disease and halting much of the progress made over the last 20 years. Safe and highly effective vaccines are urgently needed to re-invigorate and sustain the fight against malaria. Plasmodium infection is initiated by blood-feeding Anopheles mosquitoes that release sporozoites (spz) into the skin from where they migrate to the liver and invade hepatocytes.