why is there still no vaccine against HIV, while several are announced against Covid-19?

An exceptional race against time against the coronavirus. In recent days, several laboratories have presented the promising results of their vaccination projects against Covid-19, less than a year after the start of the pandemic. But other diseases still can’t find a cure. This is the case with HIV. How to explain such a gap? Serawit Bruck-Landais, director of Sidaction’s Quality and Health Research Center, tells us more, as World AIDS Day takes place on Tuesday 1 December.

For several decades, researchers have been trying to find an HIV vaccine, but it’s particularly complex for three main reasons, according to this expert. Thereby, “There are several HIV subtypes circulating around the world”explains Serawit Bruck-Landais. Otherwise, “the virus changes a lot”. Finally, “HIV integrates into the genome of the infected person and persists. So far, there are no cases of people successfully eliminating the virus thanks to their natural immune systems.”

On the contrary, the vaccine against Covid-19 presents less difficulties. “The coronavirus is not a virus that integrates into the genome. We have most of the people who manage to eliminate it with their natural immune system,” recalls the researcher. So the vaccine strategy is “classic”. We are able to take pieces of the virus to stimulate the immune system in order to fight the infection “.

Although they are not comparable in many ways, HIV research “has allowed us to make a lot of progress in the organization of research, in understanding the immune system “, permitting “Incredible time savings for Covid-19 research”, Serawit Bruck-Landais recalls.

Researcher Sidaction also stresses the importance of continuing to fund AIDS research. “We must not forget HIV, especially as it affects very precarious people. During this health crisis, these same people have been put at even greater risk. It is important to keep this in mind.”he concludes.

“Insecurity is a source of health instability for many people. And HIV and Covid-19 meet on this.”

Serawit Bruck-Landais, director of the quality and health research unit at Sidaction

to franceinfo

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