AIDS: Years Of Research But Still No Vaccine
Umer Jamshaid Published November 30, 2021 | 03:53 PM
Covid vaccines began to show promise just months after the novel coronavirus started spreading across the globe
Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2021 ) :Covid vaccines began to show promise just months after the novel coronavirus started spreading across the globe.
So why have decades of HIV/AIDS research yielded so little progress on a jab to prevent a disease that claimed some 680,000 lives in 2020? As the globe marks World AIDS Day on Wednesday, why is there still no vaccine to protect people from the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)? One answer is that the political will and colossal investment that have spurred on Covid vaccine development have largely been missing from AIDS vaccine research since HIV was discovered in 1983.
But another lies in the complexity of the science behind HIV.
"With COVID vaccines, researchers worry about the vaccine being able to fend off a handful of variants that have become particularly worrisome," reads a June report by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).
"But for HIV, there are millions and millions of different viruses that have resulted from the virus's stealth ability to rapidly mutate... It is this astonishing level of diversity that any HIV vaccine must contend with."Olivier Schwartz, head of the viruses and immunity unit at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, says that while most people can recover naturally from an initial coronavirus infection and thus acquire immunity, this is not the case for HIV.
"HIV mutates much more easily than Covid and so it is more difficult to generate so-called broadly neutralising antibodies that could prevent infection," he said.
Recent Stories
New political party to emerge soon, says Shahhid Khaqan Abbasi
Islamabad United win hearts, expresses solidarity with Palestinians
Vivo Unveils the Future of Portrait Photography with the Premium and Elegant V30 ..
Infinix NOTE 40 series defies norms with the introduction of upto 20W MagCharge ..
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 19 March 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 19 March 2024
'Charter of economy is the need of the hour': Asif
14 bodies found in Haiti capital suburb amid gang violence
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif announces metro bus projects in three ..
PM, UAE ambassador discuss ties
FM, US ambassador agree to enhance ties
Bear injures five in latest Slovak attack
More Stories From Health
-
Increased diagnostic testing for drug resistance TB will enhance patients’ treatment outcome
17 hours ago -
JRF to provide insulin to underprivileged diabetic patients
3 days ago -
MBBS third professional annual exams 2023: check results here
4 days ago -
CM Maryam visits PIC, inquiries after patients
6 days ago -
Health expert recommends exercise for weight loss in Ramazan
8 days ago -
Blood camp held at SNGPL office
8 days ago
-
Free Medical camp for people with mental, physical disabilities
14 days ago -
Breast cancer has become most common disease in few years: expert
14 days ago -
Punjab Healthcare Commission shuts down 634 illegal treatment centers
14 days ago -
COMSTECH, Al-Shifa Trust team conduct free cataract eye surgeries in Somalia
14 days ago -
Medicinal drug discovery imperative for health security: experts
18 days ago -
Free medical camp organized at NPC
19 days ago