Will there ever be a Vaccine to HIV?

[Naomi Gayle Housman]

Dear M.C. Bean et al:

Unfortunately I would have to agree with your assessment with regards to 
the development of a prophyllactic HIV-1 vaccine.  I don't think it will 
work for similar reasons that you have already outlined.  However, there 
is a slim, albeit very slim, chance that we may be able to generate an 
effective vaccine that will protect fetuses from becoming infected in 
utero by generating a vaccine that ellicits an effective immune response 
inside the pregnant mother before transimssion.  This is a tall order for 
the best of science to fill but it still remains possible.  

I think this virus is proving to be extremely wiley and obstinate in its 
incessant march towards its goal- more of itself and less of us.


Yours in Hope,



Chad Womack
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Div. HIV/AIDS
Immunology Branch
Atlanta, GA   USA


On 26 Feb 1995, M.C. Bean wrote:

> I  am a final year student of microbiology at the University of Leeds and i am 
> co-ordinating research for a forcoming debate on HIV in our medical 
> microbiology class. The motion that we are debating is "This house believes 
> that there will never be a vaccine for HIV. The group which I am working for 
> is in favour of the motion (randomly allocated). We have already come up with 
> the rate of HIV mutation and consequent antigenic variation, the 
> transmissability of HIV cell to cell which can shield it from the serum 
> antibodies and some stuff about the presentation of epitopes to T-cytotoxic 
> cells that we are still trying to understand.
> 
> Does anybody out there have any opinions of there own on this subject that 
> they would like to discuss or any suggestions for lines of research which we 
> could follow from here?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Matt
> 
>