Why the Thai HIV Vax Trial Worked

New molecular analyses yield clues to the success of a 2009 human HIV vaccine study.

Written byBob Grant

| 1 min read

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Vaccine administrationWIKIMEDIA, US GOVERNMENT

The immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody was key to the first-ever successful HIV vaccine trial in humans, reported researchers following up on the study's results.

In 2009, trial organizers announced that the particular vaccine combination used made people who received it 30 percent less likely to contract HIV than those who got a placebo. Since then, researchers have been pouring over blood samples from participants, hoping to determine the keys to the vaccine's marginal success where so many others have failed. Last week’s announcement marks one of the first answers to that question: individuals with the IgG antibody, which recognizes a specific part of HIV's envelope, were 43 percent less likely to contract the virus.

Knowing more about why the vaccine lent some protection against the ...

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Meet the Author

Bob Grant
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From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.
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