Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
Moderna s mRNA tech could change the game in the decades-long effort to develop an HIV vaccine.
The company said it expects to begin two vaccine trials in humans by the end of 2021.
While excited by the prospect, HIV researchers caution there s a long road ahead for mRNA vaccines.
Moderna s investor presentation on Wednesday showcased the Massachusetts-based biotech s efforts to develop vaccines against HIV and eight other infectious diseases.
The company s mRNA technology, which has built upon decades of research, will now contribute to the long frustrated effort to contain the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.
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People were bundled against the chill last weekend as they arrived at the Venice Family Clinic. The clinic had set up six white vaccination tents in its ground-floor parking lot, but they and the small propane heaters set up for warmth were weak foils against the wind that whipped through the open structure.
Still, everyone was pretty cheerful. About 150 patients were scheduled for their second doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, and 80 volunteers including both practicing and retired doctors and nurses had turned out to help.
Patient No. 79 was Julia Limon, an 87-year-old grandmother whose son Jose Cruz had driven her to Venice from Riverside, where she’s been staying with him on and off since her husband passed away.