Source: Luke Dray / Getty
With all of the incredible medical advancements made, the HIV virus still escapes the grasp of the world’s top medical researchers and scientists, as the HIV vaccine is still in the works. The medical community managed to find a number of successful COVID-19 vaccine within a year of the virus’s existence. Meanwhile, it’s been forty years since the first reports of people dying from a “pneumonia-like” virus. That virus was HIV.
Historically, HIV has plagued the Black community at a much higher rate than other races, says the CDC, tragically robbing millions of Black people of full lives, and leaving their loved ones with inconsolable heartbreak. There are a number of reasons for this, including a pervasive lack of access to health care such as preventative drugs and prophylaxis. The CDC also reports that Black people are at a biological disadvantage as they’ve been shown to have lower levels of viral suppression against HIV.
Now, with Moderna launching clinical trials for a vaccine, there’s new hope of conquering this disease that has taken the lives of 36.3 million people. Here’s what we know about the HIV vaccine to date.
There Is No HIV Vaccine Yet
Source: BSIP / Getty
To date, there is no approved vaccine for HIV. It’s estimated that over 100 HIV vaccines have been tested around the world since the virus was first discovered. However, to date, the only proven method for fighting HIV is antiviral treatments that can reduce the chances of death in individuals who are already infected with the virus. These drugs can be used to prevent the spread of HIV in three ways, says the National Library of Medicine. When taken daily, they can reduce the chances of transmission before exposure as well as after exposure. They can additionally be taken by infected individuals to prolong their lifespan.
Johnson & Johnson Tried And Failed
Source: gilaxia / Getty
In 2021, Johnson & Johnson conducted what was known as the “Imbokodo” trials in sub-Saharan Africa. The company enlisted 2,600 women to participate in the trials and receive the vaccine. The vaccine was based on something called “mosaic” immunogens, says the National Institute of Health, which induce an immune response. Johnson & Johnson had hoped to see at least a fifty percent reduction rate of infection following the vaccine, but only saw a 25 percent reduction and canceled the trials in late 2021.
Two People Beat It On Their Own
Source: Ignatiev / Getty
Medical researchers have been fascinated by two individuals who have evidently beat back the virus, without any medical assistance, says Science News. Analysts looked at over 1.5 billion cells from a patient known as “EC2” and found zero functional copies of HIV in them. The patient did show nonfunctional copies of HIV, but those do not pose a known threat. These numbers were found after the patient had been infected for a long period of time, so experts believe the chances that the active virus is still simply hiding in the body are low. Another patient had active copies of HIV, but they had landed in a very specific gene that prevented them from spreading. Doctors describe the gene as being “Wrapped in the molecular equivalent of razor wire.” The immune systems of these two individuals are still being studied and could provide the blueprint for a future vaccine.
COVID-19 Inspires A New HIV Vaccine
Source: Douglas Sacha / Getty
As of 2022, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in collaboration with Moderna has started early trials of three HIV vaccines that are of the same nature as the successful COVID-19 one – an mRNA vaccine. The National Institute of Health explains that an mRNA vaccine works by “Delivering a piece of genetic material that instructs the body to make a protein fragment of a target pathogen (such as a virus), which the immune system recognizes and remembers, so it can mount a substantial response if later exposed to that pathogen.” This is the first study to examine an mRNA vaccine for the prevention of HIV. Participants in the trial will be evaluated at two and six months after injection, at which time samples from their blood and lymph nodes will be assessed. It’s important to note that this HIV vaccine cannot cause infection.
RELATED CONTENT: Scientists May Have Successfully Cured HIV In The First Female Patient
