Is an HIV Vaccine in the future?
Pulled from AIDS Walk Portland. Trigger warning for mention of rape and assualt of children.
The Body reports: Discovery of Antibodies That Kill More Than 90% of HIV Viruses Gives New Hope for Vaccine
2 broadly neutralizing antibodies were discovered in the cells of a 60-year old African American gay man- called Donor 45 in documentation- that may lead to future development of a vaccine that would be effective against 91% of HIV strains. Researchers will now have to focus on how to create such a vaccine. There is also the possibility of using the antibodies to create a treatment that- along with existing anti-retroviral drug therapy- would be much more effective in suppressing the virus in those already infected, and a drug that could prevent mother-to-child transmission.
This news comes just 10 days before the International AIDS Conference, which researchers and advocates hope will help keep the focus on research and development as an important tool in the fight against this global pandemic, even in the face of a continued economic crisis.
I am particularly excited by several suggested possible uses in an article from The Wall Street Journal. If we could prevent mother-to-child transmission... I'm almost giddy at the thought!
Of course, treatment and prevention are not the only concerns in the pandemic- culture is still a part of it. As long as people think that this is not an issue they face, they will not get tested, and may unknowingly infect others. As long as the myth of a cure found in the rape of virgins persists, children will continue to be affected. As long as pharmaceutical companies try to milk profits out of health care and denying drugs that could save lives but are prohibitively priced, people will need to choose between food, housing and their meds. As long as governments continue to allow discrimination against men who have sex with men under the guise of safety, people will continue to attack, hate and ignore GBTQIP people, and to treat HIV as an issue that only queers face.
It is important that we continue this research and that we find these treatments, but the culture shift needs to happen, too.
The Body reports: Discovery of Antibodies That Kill More Than 90% of HIV Viruses Gives New Hope for Vaccine
2 broadly neutralizing antibodies were discovered in the cells of a 60-year old African American gay man- called Donor 45 in documentation- that may lead to future development of a vaccine that would be effective against 91% of HIV strains. Researchers will now have to focus on how to create such a vaccine. There is also the possibility of using the antibodies to create a treatment that- along with existing anti-retroviral drug therapy- would be much more effective in suppressing the virus in those already infected, and a drug that could prevent mother-to-child transmission.
This news comes just 10 days before the International AIDS Conference, which researchers and advocates hope will help keep the focus on research and development as an important tool in the fight against this global pandemic, even in the face of a continued economic crisis.
I am particularly excited by several suggested possible uses in an article from The Wall Street Journal. If we could prevent mother-to-child transmission... I'm almost giddy at the thought!
Of course, treatment and prevention are not the only concerns in the pandemic- culture is still a part of it. As long as people think that this is not an issue they face, they will not get tested, and may unknowingly infect others. As long as the myth of a cure found in the rape of virgins persists, children will continue to be affected. As long as pharmaceutical companies try to milk profits out of health care and denying drugs that could save lives but are prohibitively priced, people will need to choose between food, housing and their meds. As long as governments continue to allow discrimination against men who have sex with men under the guise of safety, people will continue to attack, hate and ignore GBTQIP people, and to treat HIV as an issue that only queers face.
It is important that we continue this research and that we find these treatments, but the culture shift needs to happen, too.