One of these is for the little known Nipah virus. This virus is really scary. Like the Coronavirus, it jumps to humans from bats. Unlike the Coronavirus, it is extremely lethal. In the last outbreak, in 2018 [1], the case fatality rate was 89%. Fortunately, there were only 19 cases (17 died).<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Nipah_virus_outbreak_in_Kerala" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Nipah_virus_outbreak_in_K...</a>
Damn can you imagine? I never imagined that an HIV vaccine would be possible within my lifetime. Kind of reminds me of HepC. An older coworker told me how a friend killed himself back in the day for getting HepC from tainted blood (pretty much a death sentence at that time and it consumed him). But now it’s possible to CURE it and hopefully it’ll be the same for HIV soon. Fuck, science like this is amazing.
Sorry if this is a stupid question, and I'm sure this is very positive news. But one question I didn't find an answer to in the press release: what's the value of using mRNA for flu vaccine? Will it result in a safer or more effective vaccine? Be cheaper and easier to produce? Something else?<p>I (mostly) understand the mRNA process, just curious about why it'd be superior.
Clearly Flu, HIV, and Nipah are more pressing, but I found myself wondering last night what the odds are of a rhinovirus vaccine being in the cards thanks to rapid progress SARS-CoV-2 has pressed us to make w.r.t. RNA and protein-like vaccines.<p>Economics is the largest barrier in my mind. While my understanding is that these vaccines are less expensive to produce, it's hard to convince people to get the flu shot, let alone a common cold shot. What's more is that with hundreds of variants, it's efficacy would be hard to get right.<p>That said, I'd gladly pay a heft amount yearly if it meant I had a >60% chance of not catching a cold that year.
Really good news!<p>Hopefully these get approved relatively quickly. I'm most excited about the seasonal flu vaccine. That could be a major game changer.
A few weeks ago, I looked for info on how the mRNA itself is produced/created in these vaccines, but couldn't find the answer. Does anyone know?
Didn't Moderna already announce the seasonal flu vaccine programs on the research presentation day?<p>Anyways, I really hope them to succeed, my mother didn't take the flu vaccine ,,because it's risky and not that useful anyways''.<p>Moderna can make it much more efficient with less side effects, so I'm looking forward to it.
Can someone fill me in here. I have tried my best to read, and educate myself about these mRNA vaccines. But I have yet to see any conclusive evidence or proof that having the vaccine for COVID-19 prevents you from actually getting COVID-19. And i've seen many people debating this in the comments of other HN threads. It might mean you are asymptomatic, and _less_ likely to spread your symptoms - but it still means you can theoretically harbour the virus and spread it on to others (e.g. through kissing)<p>So, the question is, given we already have medication which works well as treatment for those with HIV - what exactly will this vaccine do for HIV - if not stop the transmission? My understanding is HIV is primarily spread through sex and sharing of needles. A vaccination program won't stop that.<p>Thanks in advance. I would love to read more about this.
(Caveat: amateur opinion based on mainstream broad understanding, not an actual scientist.)<p>This is interesting, but so far a weak first step on flu. Each year experts stare at numbers and perhaps read some tea leaves to choose 4 strains to cover, often missing somewhat.<p>The innovation I'd like to see: ignore the "choose 4" process, and instead aim to cover all known strains.