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The start of this year’s HIV Research for Prevention Conference brings with it new findings show the potential of special antibodies to prevent HIV infection
This antibody can make people 75% less likely to become infected with a third of existing strains of HIV
Bhekisisa unpacks the study and breaks down the key concepts
There’s a new player in the HIV prevention field. Newly released results from the 4th HIV Research for Prevention Conference offers fresh insight into how the immune system can prevent HIV infection and serve as a guide for a potential, long-awaited HIV vaccine.
CATHRYN CUNNINGHAM/ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
As an emergency physician, Dr. Eugenia South was in the first group of people to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. She received her second dose last week â even before President Joe Biden.
Yet South said she’s in no rush to throw away her face mask.
“I honestly don’t think I’ll ever go without a mask at work again,” said South, faculty director of the Urban Health Lab at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe doing that.”
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And although COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective, South plans to continue wearing her mask outside the hospital as well.
Science’
s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation.
News from U.S. manufacturer Moderna that its COVID-19 vaccine is still “expected to be protective” against a virus variant first detected in South Africa came as a relief to scientists and the public. But the 25 January announcement included a caveat: Antibodies triggered by the vaccine appear to be a little less potent against the new variant, named B.1.351, than the one the vaccine was developed for. So researchers were perhaps even more relieved to hear the company will start development of booster shots tailored to B.1.351 and other variants.
New coronavirus variant could be problematic for vaccines, a second study in two days suggests
From CNN s Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen
As researchers around the world race to see if new coronavirus variants will pose a problem for the vaccines, a second study in two days says a variant from South Africa could possibly do just that.
The variant was first spotted in South Africa in October and has now been found in more than a dozen countries.
In both studies, the work was done in the lab and not in people, so more research is needed to gauge the true threat of the new variant.