4 ms·

I definitely don't have any knowledge on the topic. Here are my crackpot opinions: 1) Maybe many or most infected have a single strain each, and a targeted vac

I definitely don't have any knowledge on the topic. Here are my crackpot opinions: 1) Maybe many or most infected have a single strain each, and a targeted vaccine to each's strain could work as a treatment, similarly to the tetanus and rabies vaccines. Even if not a full cure, could be a way to halt the disease progression with lower cost and side effects than the current treatments available. 2) HIV spreads relatively slowly, so maybe flu-style annual vaccinations to at-risk groups for hot strains could be enough to actually revert the epidemic over decades.

f6v 5y ago
Regarding your second point, isn’t HIV a preventable disease? In the areas where the prevalence is in double digits, people don’t seem to be using condoms or taking other precautions. Why would they be taking vaccine every year?
- arcticbull 5y ago
  It's a lot easier to get folks to agree to one or two shots one time than to convince them to change their sexual practices, one would imagine.
  - f6v 5y ago
    I somewhat agree, but condoms aren’t just for HIV and save from other potentially lethal diseases. So the benefit is just enormous, yet folks still don’t use them. At the same time, look the vaccination rates in the Eastern Europe. I suspect it’s somewhat hard to get people vaccinated against the disease they don’t take seriously. I mean, HIV is horrible. Yet so many people ignore protection.
    - vineyardmike 5y ago
      > I mean, HIV is horrible. Yet so many people ignore protection. Because sex is good. And sometimes spontaneous. And often combined with other drugs (booze) and people make bad decisions.
  - xienze 5y ago
    > It's a lot easier to get folks to agree to one or two shots one time Is it gonna be “one or two shots one time” like the Covid vaccine was initially pitched or ...
    - arcticbull 5y ago
      Why on earth do people get all uppity about the COVID vaccine requiring multiple shots? Basically every vaccine you've ever had (and you've likely had a lot) required 2, 3, 4 or even periodic shots for your entire life. - Flu. Twice per year until age 9 then one per year, forever. - Td, one dose every 10 years, forever. - Tdap, 4 doses. - Pneumococcal, 2 doses. - Rotavirus, 2 or 3 doses. - Meningitis, 2 doses. - MMR, 2 doses. - Hepatitis A, 2 doses. - Hepatitis B, 3 doses. - HPV, 2 or 3 doses. - Polio, 2 doses. - Varicella, 2 doses. Seriously, we've had vaccines for 300 years. This kind of shocked Pikachu reaction to the very concept of a booster is tiring and adds nothing to the conversation. Honestly, one dose every 3 months to avoid AIDS? In a heartbeat. How is getting an ouchie once in a while anything other than a remarkable scientific breakthrough in the prevention of one of the most insidious diseases we have?
      - f6v 5y ago
        Don’t get me wrong, I got my 3 Covid shots. But that’s within 6 months. No other vaccine is that frequent.
        dragonwriter 5y ago
        > Don’t get me wrong, I got my 3 Covid shots. But that’s within 6 months. No other vaccine is that frequent. That's not at all true, though the number drops pretty low when you eliminate the various series for infants that have doses at something like 2, 4, and 6 months (and often a fourth at 12-15). But even eliminating those, there's a 3-dose/6-month HPV vaccine series, and a 3-dose, 6-month series for Meningitis B for populations at elevated risk, and maybe others.
- bobbyasdfasdf7 5y ago
  getting a shot once a year is way easier than a very expensive pill every day (prep) or even using a condom every time you have sex.
- Qem 5y ago
  The vaccine wouldn't mess with sexual pleasure, something that hampers adoption of condoms. While condoms transmit pressure sensation just fine, the shearing sensation is diminished. Older men with mild ED may lose erection in the interval necessary to apply a condom. I believe there is space to disruptive innovation in the condom market.

f6v 5y ago

Regarding your second point, isn’t HIV a preventable disease? In the areas where the prevalence is in double digits, people don’t seem to be using condoms or taking other precautions. Why would they be taking vaccine every year?

arcticbull 5y ago
It's a lot easier to get folks to agree to one or two shots one time than to convince them to change their sexual practices, one would imagine.
- f6v 5y ago
  I somewhat agree, but condoms aren’t just for HIV and save from other potentially lethal diseases. So the benefit is just enormous, yet folks still don’t use them. At the same time, look the vaccination rates in the Eastern Europe. I suspect it’s somewhat hard to get people vaccinated against the disease they don’t take seriously. I mean, HIV is horrible. Yet so many people ignore protection.
  - vineyardmike 5y ago
    > I mean, HIV is horrible. Yet so many people ignore protection. Because sex is good. And sometimes spontaneous. And often combined with other drugs (booze) and people make bad decisions.
- xienze 5y ago
  > It's a lot easier to get folks to agree to one or two shots one time Is it gonna be “one or two shots one time” like the Covid vaccine was initially pitched or ...
  - arcticbull 5y ago
    Why on earth do people get all uppity about the COVID vaccine requiring multiple shots? Basically every vaccine you've ever had (and you've likely had a lot) required 2, 3, 4 or even periodic shots for your entire life. - Flu. Twice per year until age 9 then one per year, forever. - Td, one dose every 10 years, forever. - Tdap, 4 doses. - Pneumococcal, 2 doses. - Rotavirus, 2 or 3 doses. - Meningitis, 2 doses. - MMR, 2 doses. - Hepatitis A, 2 doses. - Hepatitis B, 3 doses. - HPV, 2 or 3 doses. - Polio, 2 doses. - Varicella, 2 doses. Seriously, we've had vaccines for 300 years. This kind of shocked Pikachu reaction to the very concept of a booster is tiring and adds nothing to the conversation. Honestly, one dose every 3 months to avoid AIDS? In a heartbeat. How is getting an ouchie once in a while anything other than a remarkable scientific breakthrough in the prevention of one of the most insidious diseases we have?
    - f6v 5y ago
      Don’t get me wrong, I got my 3 Covid shots. But that’s within 6 months. No other vaccine is that frequent.
      - dragonwriter 5y ago
        > Don’t get me wrong, I got my 3 Covid shots. But that’s within 6 months. No other vaccine is that frequent. That's not at all true, though the number drops pretty low when you eliminate the various series for infants that have doses at something like 2, 4, and 6 months (and often a fourth at 12-15). But even eliminating those, there's a 3-dose/6-month HPV vaccine series, and a 3-dose, 6-month series for Meningitis B for populations at elevated risk, and maybe others.
bobbyasdfasdf7 5y ago
getting a shot once a year is way easier than a very expensive pill every day (prep) or even using a condom every time you have sex.
Qem 5y ago
The vaccine wouldn't mess with sexual pleasure, something that hampers adoption of condoms. While condoms transmit pressure sensation just fine, the shearing sensation is diminished. Older men with mild ED may lose erection in the interval necessary to apply a condom. I believe there is space to disruptive innovation in the condom market.