Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to former President Joe Biden, was at the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday to talk about the quest for an HIV vaccine.Fauci and his colleague, Dr. Larry Corey, a renowned expert in virology, immunology and vaccine development, said it’s never been more important to restore public trust and support for the medical research they say keeps the public healthier and safer.”You know, an anti-science attitude together with an anti-vaccine attitude is not very good for the public health of the country or the world,” Fauci said.Both Fauci and Corey have dedicated their lives to studying diseases. They said prevention is always the gold standard.A new documentary delves into the quest for an HIV vaccine, which has been decades in the making.How close is the vaccine to becoming a reality?”The honest answer and the answer tinted with humility is we don’t know,” Fauci said. “The timeline has always been complex because HIV is not like the flu or other diseases.””The human body doesn’t self-cure HIV,” Corey said. “So we have to be ‘cleverer’ and use immune responses that we actually have to be better than. And the virus does have many diversionary mechanisms that we’re learning.”HIV is still a significant public health issue.The world sees 1.3 million new cases every year, with the U.S. seeing more than 38,000 new cases.While there are good anti-viral treatments, there is no cure.The focus of health professionals has remained on prevention for decades.But getting a vaccine over the finish line has been challenging in a time when science has been politicized, making the public more skeptical.”Improving scientific literacy is really an important issue,” Corey said.”We would not be where we are right now with the way we can prevent and treat diseases were it not for investments in science,” Fauci said. To watch the free online documentary, click here.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to former President Joe Biden, was at the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday to talk about the quest for an HIV vaccine.
Fauci and his colleague, Dr. Larry Corey, a renowned expert in virology, immunology and vaccine development, said it’s never been more important to restore public trust and support for the medical research they say keeps the public healthier and safer.
“You know, an anti-science attitude together with an anti-vaccine attitude is not very good for the public health of the country or the world,” Fauci said.
Both Fauci and Corey have dedicated their lives to studying diseases. They said prevention is always the gold standard.
A new documentary delves into the quest for an HIV vaccine, which has been decades in the making.
How close is the vaccine to becoming a reality?
“The honest answer and the answer tinted with humility is we don’t know,” Fauci said. “The timeline has always been complex because HIV is not like the flu or other diseases.”
“The human body doesn’t self-cure HIV,” Corey said. “So we have to be ‘cleverer’ and use immune responses that we actually have to be better than. And the virus does have many diversionary mechanisms that we’re learning.”
HIV is still a significant public health issue.
The world sees 1.3 million new cases every year, with the U.S. seeing more than 38,000 new cases.
While there are good anti-viral treatments, there is no cure.
The focus of health professionals has remained on prevention for decades.
But getting a vaccine over the finish line has been challenging in a time when science has been politicized, making the public more skeptical.
“Improving scientific literacy is really an important issue,” Corey said.
“We would not be where we are right now with the way we can prevent and treat diseases were it not for investments in science,” Fauci said.
To watch the free online documentary, click here.