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An HIV Vaccine Based Off A Covid-19 Jab Is Showing Incredibly Promising Results

An HIV Vaccine Based Off A Covid-19 Jab Is Showing Incredibly Promising Results

Phase I trials have shown the vaccine is 97 per cent effective at producing antibodies to fight the deadly virus.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Early data from a clinical trial on a potential HIV vaccine is showing promising results.

As researchers and scientists were racing to develop a jab for the coronavirus, other experts have used mRNA technology to see if it could be used on other deadly viruses.

This technology uses lipid nanoparticles to deliver tiny bits of nucleic acid that gives the body instructions on making proteins that can go onto produce antibodies to fight a pathogen.

It has been long thought something like this could be utilised to fight HIV, however the theory is only just starting to show results.

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and The Scripps Research Institute has been looking at an HIV vaccine based off the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the likes of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

PA

In Phase I clinical trials, the vaccine has shown to be 97 per cent effective against the virus.

HIV has been around for more than 30 years and a cure has evaded health officials ever since.

While the world has been blessed with the arrival of anti-retroviral medication, the hunt for a vaccine has always been elusive. Scientists have been stumped by the virus' ability to mutate so rapidly.

But there are hopes this new avenue could be huge.

Dr William Schaffner, a professor of preventative medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, said about the data: "These are very early studies. But nonetheless, they are provocative.

"This is a very innovative approach to developing a vaccine that hasn't been done before...[it's] kind of a culmination of 21st century science.

"This study demonstrates proof of principle for a new vaccine concept for HIV, a concept that could be applied to other pathogens, as well."

PA

Dr William Schief, a professor and immunologist at Scripps Research, is hopeful this will pave a new path in the fight against the virus that affects 38 million people around the world.

"This study demonstrates proof of principle for a new vaccine concept for HIV, a concept that could be applied to other pathogens as well," he said in a statement.

"With our many collaborators on the study team, we showed that vaccines can be designed to stimulate rare immune cells with specific properties and this targeted stimulation can be very efficient in humans.

"We believe this approach will be key to making an HIV vaccine and possibly important for making vaccines against other pathogens."

The big test will be whether the vaccine candidate holds up its effectiveness when it's tested on a much larger pool of subjects.

Only 48 people were a part of the Phase I trial, but it's hoped many more will sign onto the later trials.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, vaccine, Interesting