Monday Cameroon became the first country to establish a routine malaria vaccination program for children.

"It's a historic day," Aurelian Nguyen, chief program officer of the Gavi vaccine alliance told Agence France-Presse, marking a "turning point" in fighting the disease. "We have been working on the malaria vaccine for a very long time . . . 30 years."

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite that is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. People often experience flu-like symptoms and, if left untreated, they can develop severe complications and die.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that there were an estimated 241 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2020 and 627,000 people died. Most of the deaths were of children in sub-Saharan Africa.

Two different vaccines have recently been approved for the fight against malaria. Cameroon is using the GlaxoSmithKline vaccine. An Oxford University vaccine is expected to be available later this year.

Both vaccines require multiple doses and neither stops transmission. Medical officials are urging people to continue to use bed nets and insecticide sprays in the fight against malaria.