Progress on HIV Vaccine?

Since HIV first appeared, many things have changed. New medicines help people with HIV live well and stop them from spreading the virus. But to truly beat HIV, we need a vaccine.HIV is a big problem worldwide, like tuberculosis. In 2022, over a million people got HIV, and about 630,000 died from it. Governments and groups worldwide aim to end the HIV crisis by 2030. Having a vaccine could be a huge step in achieving that goal.

The search for an HIV vaccine

Finding a vaccine for HIV has been really hard. The virus keeps changing, and none of the methods tried so far have worked well in tests with real patients.

Dr. Johan Vekemans from the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative explained, “HIV is tough. It hides in cells, messes with DNA, and kills immune cells. Plus, it has a shield that stops our immune system from attacking it. It’s good at triggering our immune system but in a way that doesn’t protect us. One big challenge is that HIV has many different forms, even within one person.”

So, HIV can hide and harm our immune system. Even if our body fights back, it doesn’t work well. Also, because there are many types of HIV, traditional methods haven’t been successful. This makes it hard to cure someone who has HIV or to prevent it with a vaccine.

The most recent studies

It’s disappointing that no vaccine has worked yet, but researchers are still trying. Each failed attempt teaches us more about the virus and how to fight it. The perfect vaccine would trigger the immune system to make antibodies that can kill many different types of the virus. It would also activate T-cells to kill infected cells, which could help find a cure.

Dr. Vekemans said, “We’re changing how we make vaccines. We’re learning from nature to make better targets for antibodies and T-cells.” Studying HIV patients with long-term infections has helped us understand how to make antibodies that can fight the virus. Some progress has been made in early trials.

Now, two new trials, one in the US and one in Africa, are using mRNA technology to trigger the immune response. There’s also research into curing HIV, which could help us prevent it better. A trial for a T-cell vaccine just finished, and we’re waiting for the results. Other new methods are being tested in labs using what we’ve learned over the years and new technology like machine learning.

Dr. Vekemans said, “We need to focus on making the right kind of immune response to protect us.”

What are the chances of beating HIV?

Even though we don’t have a vaccine yet, we can still fight the virus. Teaching people about HIV and how to avoid it is really important. There are drugs like PrEP that can stop people from getting infected. And new forms of PrEP are being developed that could last longer and be easier to use, like a shot.

For people who already have HIV, there’s still hope. New medicines mean they can live healthy lives. And if their viral load is undetectable, they can’t spread the virus to others. This is a big achievement, known as “undetectable equals untransmittable” or U=U.

But even with these advances, people with HIV still face discrimination. This can stop them from getting the help they need to stay healthy. Stigma comes from politics, religion, and money problems, and it keeps the most vulnerable people from getting the treatment and information they need.

Read the Original Article IFL SCIENCE

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