After decades of research and repair, scientists have crossed a multitude of stepping stones on a path towards inventing an HIV vaccine. In early 2026, they crossed several more.
Human immunodeficiency virus, more commonly known as HIV, is an incurable virus that attacks the body by destroying immune cells. As a result, those with HIV are more vulnerable to other infections or illnesses. Untreated cases of HIV can reach a late stage of the virus known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Those with AIDS may experience other diseases or infections, including tuberculosis, herpes, pneumonia, or salmonella, due to their severely damaged immune systems.
HIV is spread by contact with certain bodily fluids, often during unprotected sex, of a person who is HIV positive. The virus can also, yet less commonly, be directly injected into the bloodstream by sharing injection drug equipment.
Untreated, one with HIV may live approximately 8 to 10 years after initial infection. The life expectancy of untreated AIDS, however, is approximately 3 years. There is no effective cure for HIV, and the human body cannot completely get rid of it. Yet, treatments such as pills and shots that block the virus exist, and with effective treatment, people with HIV can live long, healthy lives.
With an aim of treatment progression, scientists launched a Phase 1 clinical trial of a possible HIV vaccine on Dec 15, 2025 at the Perinatal HIV Research Unit in Soweto, South Africa. International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), a global nonprofit scientific research organization, is currently testing whether high specialized vaccine immunogens can target certain B cells within the immune system and guide them to produce broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) against HIV. Scientists believe a vaccine inducing bnAbs could provide protection against many of the virus’s strains.
The HIV immunogens being evaluated were developed in William Schief’s laboratory at Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California and have been evaluated by IAVI, Scripps Research, and several other professional partners.
“I think it is optimistic that largely influential companies like the IAVI and Scripps Research Institute are spending a lot of time on these trials,” commented Mikayla Cheng ’26. “If they end up being successful, I think that’s a great starting point for continuing to research HIV and AIDS in depth, as well as coming up with more and more ways to alleviate its spread and effects on people.”
This first initiation of the IAVI G004 clinical trial builds on the promising results of previous trials IAVI G001, G002, and G003. The Phase 1 study will evaluate 96 adult participants, who are healthy and are living without HIV, at six clinical sites in South Africa to identify the lowest dose of immunogens required to produce a response from the immune system. For this study, scientists aim to minimize risk of side effects, such as skin reactions, that were present in preceding trials.
However, although progress endures, HIV continues to be surrounded by a stigma deeply-rooted in ignorance and discrimination. Upon the identification of the virus in the early 80s, which the AIDs epidemic of the 80s and 90s followed, HIV began facing immense stigma from negative attitudes and beliefs about people with the virus.
With the possibility of a functioning vaccine, the social stigma of the virus is bound to alter. Whether this change is improvement or regression will depend on the public reaction of the disease becoming rarer.
Timothy Yuen ’26 predicted such in stating, “To be honest, I don’t think that the social stigma surrounding HIV will improve with better prevention because as the disease becomes more rare, people with it may become even more outcast and looked down upon.”
According to the World Health Organization, over 40M people currently live with HIV, and over 1M people acquire it each year. Hence, the goal of a safe and effective HIV vaccine is urgently sought after and thought of as a necessary breakthrough to ending the AIDs pandemic.
“HIV has been a worldwide problem for decades and has destroyed communities and families due to a lack of effective treatment. This new possibility of a vaccine brings the hope of an end to a disease that has been hurting the world for too long,” said Georgie Michalchuk ’26.
The clinical trials in South Africa offer more than just a glimpse of hope, but a ray of promise for a future without HIV.
