The Moderna HIV vaccine trials are underway
Last week, Moderna made a groundbreaking announcement: Human trials for the experimental HIV vaccine are officially underway. Together with the nonprofit scientific research organization International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Moderna has developed a vaccine that is designed to send HIV antigens to a recipient’s body in the hopes that it induces an immune response. By Jan. 27th, 2022, the two companies have inoculated their first human candidates.
“We are tremendously excited to be advancing this new direction in HIV vaccine design with Moderna’s mRNA platform”, said Mark Feinberg, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of IAVI. “The search for an HIV vaccine has been long and challenging, and having new tools in terms of immunogens and platforms could be the key to making rapid progress toward an urgently needed, effective HIV vaccine”.
Today, people living with HIV (PLHIV) can take antiretroviral therapy (ART) for treatment. Like HAART, this involves taking a combination of medications that prevent the virus from multiplying and thus destroying the body’s T cells. Reducing the amount of HIV in the virus also reduces the risk of transmission. Today, if you have an undetectable viral load – that means the level of HIV in your blood is too low to come up in a viral load test – then you have no risk of passing HIV on to your partner.
Nowadays, you can also take medication to prevent yourself from getting HIV from sex or sharing needles. PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) comes in two types of medications and must be taken regularly to protect oneself from the risk of infection.
https://www.queerty.com/moderna-hiv-vaccine-trials-underway-20220208
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