# A significant step towards an HIV vaccine?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-significant-step-towards-an-hiv-vaccine/275230>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [November 17, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-significant-step-towards-an-hiv-vaccine/275230 "2004-11-17T08:26:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-significant-step-towards-an-hiv-vaccine/275230/1 "2004-11-17T08:26:25Z")

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[365gay.com](http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/11/111604AIDS.htm):

> [@](#):
>
> (Paris) Researchers at Pasteur Institute and France’s National Center for Scientific Research announced Tuesday that they have been able to stimulate antibodies to significantly bock HIV from infecting human immune cells.
> 
> The tests have been conducted only under laboratory conditions, and the scientists say they are still a long way from developing a safe human vaccine. Nevertheless, they say it is a significant breakthrough.

Please gods… let this be something.

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**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-significant-step-towards-an-hiv-vaccine/275230/2 "2004-11-17T08:53:55Z")

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**matt\_mcl** - We can hope, but 16 years ago I was part of a vaccine trials headed by the NIH. The concept for the vaccine was that they would combine part of the HIV virus with the smallpox vaccine (because that had such a well-proven history of success), to create antibodies against the HIV virus. At the time, the researchers said they figured a workable vaccine was 5-10 years in the future. 16 years later and we’re still waiting.

To qualify for the vaccine study I had to not have been previously vaccinated against smallpox and I had to agree to a year’s celibacy, to minimize the potential HIV invection. Of course, no IV drug users need apply. The study had a hard time finding volunteers. 😃

StG

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**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-significant-step-towards-an-hiv-vaccine/275230/3 "2004-11-17T09:17:27Z")

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> [@matt\_mcl](#):
>
> [365gay.com](http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/11/111604AIDS.htm):
> 
> Please gods… let this be something.

They’ve made announcments on TV to bring in volunteers for the testing. However, they also mentionned that :

-Even if it proves to be efficient, it will take more than 5 years before it can be sold to the general public.

-It’s only one of some large number of vaccines being tested all over the world.

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**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-significant-step-towards-an-hiv-vaccine/275230/4 "2004-11-17T16:54:44Z")

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Even if it’s just a small advance…

_crosses fingers and hopes so much it hurts_