Malawi vaccinates a new generation of children against polio, which still hasn't been eradicated

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — In a classroom in southern Malawi, children sit in rows on the floor as a health worker moves among them administering an oral vaccine that protects against polio.

The new vaccination campaign that began on Wednesday is another reminder that the world still hasn’t managed to eradicate the ancient disease, which primarily affects children and can cause paralysis, despite a concerted effort for more than 35 years by the World Health Organization and its partners.

Health officials believe they came close several times, including five years ago, when just five cases of the natural polio virus were reported globally.

But a WHO report said that there were 38 cases of the natural polio virus between January and October 2025 — all in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the last two countries where it remains endemic — and another 151 cases of a vaccine-derived polio virus strain in 13 countries.

Those vaccine-derived cases have overtaken natural polio virus cases in recent years, and complicated the eradication effort as one of a number of missteps in the global fight. They come about when the weakened live virus in oral polio vaccines mutates into a form capable of sparking new outbreaks.

That’s the problem in Malawi, which reported last month that it had discovered the vaccine-derived Type 2 polio virus strain in sewage water in the southern city of Blantyre, prompting health authorities to launch a new immunization campaign using a modified vaccine.

By WHO regulations, Malawi was required to declare an outbreak on confirming the polio virus traces.

Malawi’s deputy health minister, Charles Chilambula, was among the officials promoting the vaccination drive. It involves 1.7 million doses being administered to children at schools and taken door-to-door through some of the city’s neighborhoods by health workers.

In an attempt to reassure people, Chilambula said that the doses will protect against the vaccine-derived form that’s been discovered in Blantyre in environmental samples. Malawi’s Health Ministry said that it's using the novel oral polio vaccine that’s designed to stop circulating vaccine-derived Type 2 outbreaks.

“It’s very important that we do the vaccine now, because it also deals with this virus which we have detected,” Chilambula said.

Polio is a highly contagious incurable disease that affects the nervous system, and both the wild virus and the vaccine-derived strain can cause irreversible paralysis. It's spread through contaminated food or water. Around one in 200 cases results in paralysis, WHO says, typically affecting the legs.

In the early 20th century, polio struck fear in communities across the world and paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children annually before the advent of vaccines in the 1950s.

Despite statistics now showing more children contracting polio viruses originating in vaccines than in the wild, global health authorities claim a bigger victory against polio. Wild polio virus cases have decreased by more than 99% since 1988, according to WHO, and from 125 endemic countries to two, largely because of vaccines.

But the end goal — the eradication of polio like smallpox — has been elusive.

Malawi became a country of concern for polio again in 2022 when a child contracted the wild polio virus, the first case in the southern African nation for 30 years. Last month’s announcement of traces of a vaccine-derived strain is another setback.

Dr. Joe Collins Opio, UNICEF's Malawi chief of health, said that the vaccination campaign would first focus on children in eight districts, but would ultimately grow into a national effort across the country of around 22 million people and called on everyone to “be part of the response.”

Malawi, like many poor countries, relies heavily on mobile health workers to reach people in vaccination campaigns.

Health workers, mainly women in matching blue dresses, visited schools and homes in the Blantyre area on foot, carrying vaccines in small cooler boxes. Officials say motorbikes will be used to take doses further afield.

People were also invited to open-air educational events, where officials promoted vaccines in speeches interspersed with popular music as children held up signs urging they be protected from polio.

“Polio remains a threat,” said Dr. Akosua Sika Ayisi, a public health specialist with WHO helping with the vaccination drive. She outlined Malawi’s task of ensuring every eligible child "in every community” is fully vaccinated to contribute to the global eradication of polio.

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A healthcare worker administers polio vaccine to a child in the Ndirande Township of Blantyre, Malawi, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Kenneth Jali)

Health workers get ready to administer oral polio vaccines to children in the Ndirande Township of Blantyre, Malawi, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Kenneth Jali)

Health workers get ready to administer oral polio vaccines to children in the Ndirande Township of Blantyre, Malawi, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Kenneth Jali)

A healthcare worker administers polio vaccine to a child in the Ndirande Township of Blantyre, Malawi, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Kenneth Jali)

A healthcare worker administers polio vaccine to a child in the Ndirande Township of Blantyre, Malawi, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Kenneth Jali)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Brigham Young University said Friday that its standout wide receiver Parker Kingston is no longer a student at the Utah private school after he was arrested this week on a first-degree felony rape charge.

Kingston, 21, made his initial court appearance Friday in St. George, where prosecutors say a woman who was 20 years old at the time told officers that Kingston assaulted her at her home last February. He was arrested following a yearlong investigation in which detectives collected digital and forensic evidence and interviewed witnesses, Washington County Attorney Jerry Jaeger said.

“I found by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Kingston was a danger to the community," Judge John Walton said during the hearing.

Still, Walton allowed Kingston be released Friday on a $100,000 bond with $10,000 cash immediately paid to the court after he was held initially without bail.

His defense attorney, Cara Tangaro, agreed that Kingston could have no contact with his accuser or any potential witnesses, must stay off social media and would wear a GPS ankle monitor to ensure he doesn't return to the southwestern Utah county, except for court appearances. He appeared before the judge by remote video link from jail Friday.

If convicted, he could serve five years to life in prison.

Tangaro did not immediately respond Friday to email and phone messages seeking comment.

BYU spokesperson Jon McBride said the administration and coaches were only made aware of the investigation and the allegations against Kingston after his arrest this week. He declined to answer whether Kingston was kicked out or left the school voluntarily.

Kingston told St. George Police that “all sexual activity” with the woman accusing him of rape was “consensual,” according to an affidavit unsealed Thursday. The woman told investigators she had made clear to Kingston before he came to her house that she did not want to have sex with him, and she told him to stop several times when he initiated sex, the affidavit said.

BYU, the flagship university of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church, has a strict honor code for students that prohibits all sexual relations outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Those who violate it can face suspension, and for athletes, many weeks riding the bench.

Other top athletes including Tulane quarterback Jake Retzlaff have opted to leave BYU when faced with lengthy suspensions for violating the honor code.

Kingston was BYU’s leading receiver last season.

He is expected to make his next court appearance Feb. 25.

FILE - BYU wide receiver Parker Kingston (11) runs the ball in for a touchdown during the second half an NCAA college football game against UCF, Nov. 29, 2025, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate, File)