They'll Just Have to Find Some Other Way to Die

I know how callous and cynical that sounds but if you regularly read reports coming out of sub-Saharan Africa, news of an effective, cheap meningitis vaccine is a "one step forward, nine back" sort of thing.

The good news - a cheap and effective vaccine has been tested and will be available for that region in 2009. Unlike standard vaccines that cost $10-20 per dose, the new product can be produced for 40-cents per dose. That means that mass vaccinations can be achieved at $1 per patient. The vaccine has been found highly effective against the most common strain of meningitis found in 85% of infected Africans.

The new vaccine protects individuals for ten years instead of the two-year duration of the more expensive products. It is safe to be given to children under two and it works preventatively as well as therapeutically.

Now, if we can just find these people water, something to eat and maybe a patch of arable land...