136 Results
Vaccine for Rare but Deadly Mosquito-Borne Viruses Shows Promise in Clinical Trial
May 12, 2022
A vaccine for eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV), and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) was found to be safe, well-tolerated and induced a neutralizing antibody response in adult volunteers, according to newly published results from a Phase 1 clinical trial. The vaccine candidate was developed by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center (VRC), part of the National Institutes of Health.
NIH Launches Clinical Trial of Epstein-Barr Virus Vaccine
May 6, 2022
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched an early-stage clinical trial to evaluate an investigational preventative vaccine for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). EBV is the primary cause of infectious mononucleosis and is associated with certain cancers and autoimmune diseases. The Phase 1 study, which will be conducted at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, is one of only two studies to test an investigational EBV vaccine in more than a decade.
NIAID Marks World Malaria Day
April 25, 2022
Malaria is one of the world’s most widespread and ancient infectious diseases, and controlling it remains a critical public health priority. This complex parasitic disease, transmitted from person to person by the bite of infected mosquitoes, threatens the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in tropical areas around the globe. Each year, on April 25, World Malaria Day provides an opportunity to reflect on recent advances in controlling this disease and the challenges that remain.
NIH Funds New Tuberculosis Research Advancement Centers
April 6, 2022
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, today announced four new grant awards to establish Tuberculosis Research Advancement Centers (TRACs). The centers will support the development of a next generation of tuberculosis (TB) researchers by providing focused mentoring and funding support for new investigators; opportunities for multidisciplinary and collaborative research; and training in laboratory and clinical settings. The total funding in the first year of these five-year grants is approximately $4.3 million.
NIH Experts Discuss Controlling COVID-19 in Commentary on Herd Immunity
March 31, 2022
Achieving classical herd immunity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may not be attainable, according to a new perspective published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. However, widespread use of currently available public health interventions to prevent and control COVID-19 will enable resumption of most activities of daily life with minimal disruption, the authors note. Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of NIH, David M.
NIH Begins Clinical Trial Evaluating Second COVID-19 Booster Shots in Adults
March 31, 2022
A Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating various additional COVID-19 booster shots has begun enrolling adult participants in the United States. The trial aims to understand if different vaccine regimens—prototype and variant vaccines alone and in combinations—can broaden immune responses in adults who already have received a primary vaccination series and a first booster shot. The study, known as the COVID-19 Variant Immunologic Landscape (COVAIL) trial, is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
World TB Day 2022—Invest to End TB. Save Lives
March 24, 2022
Today marks the 140th anniversary of the announcement by Dr. Robert Koch that tuberculosis (TB) is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. World TB Day is a reminder that this ancient disease remains a relentless killer. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, affirms its commitment to the 2022 World TB Day theme, Invest to End TB. Save Lives, by supporting and conducting wide-ranging research aimed at reducing the health and economic impacts of TB.
NIH Launches Clinical Trial of Three mRNA HIV Vaccines
March 14, 2022
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating three experimental HIV vaccines based on a messenger RNA (mRNA) platform—a technology used in several approved COVID-19 vaccines. NIAID is sponsoring the study, called HVTN 302, and the NIAID-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), based at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, is conducting the trial.
NIH Launches Trial to Study Allergic Reactions to COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine
March 9, 2022
Researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) are conducting a clinical trial designed to help understand rare but potentially serious systemic allergic reactions to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The single-site trial will enroll up to 100 people aged 16 to 69 years old who had an allergic reaction to a first dose of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Study participants will receive a second dose of vaccine as inpatients under carefully controlled conditions at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Leadership Transition at the NIAID Vaccine Research Center
February 16, 2022
I extend my heartfelt gratitude and deepest respect to John R. Mascola, M.D., as he announces his retirement as Director of the Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Mascola will leave NIAID at the end of March.
Researchers Document Third Known Case of HIV Remission Involving Stem Cell Transplant
February 15, 2022
A woman with HIV who received a cord blood stem cell transplant to treat acute myeloid leukemia has had no detectable levels of HIV for 14 months despite cessation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to a presentation at today’s Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI).
NIAID Pandemic Preparedness Plan Targets ‘Prototype’ and Priority Pathogens
February 2, 2022
As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues into its third year, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is focusing on preparing for a range of other viral threats that could cause a public health emergency. For decades, NIAID has launched major research responses and developed medical countermeasures to combat multiple emerging infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, SARS-CoV-1, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), Ebola virus, Zika virus, and SARS-CoV-2.
NIH Supports Valley Fever Research with New Awards
February 2, 2022
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has announced three awards to establish a network of Coccidioidomycosis Collaborative Research Centers to conduct research on coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley Fever. These multi-disciplinary research teams will collaborate to investigate potential diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines for this fungal disease.
Trial Tests Strategy to Augment Response to COVID-19 Vaccines in Transplant Recipients
January 31, 2022
A study has begun to assess the antibody response to an additional dose of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in kidney and liver transplant recipients, either alone or with a concurrent reduction in immunosuppressive medication. The clinical trial will enroll people for whom two to four doses of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine did not elicit a detectable antibody response.
Hyperimmune Intravenous Immunoglobulin Does Not Improve Outcomes for Adults Hospitalized with COVID-19
January 27, 2022
A clinical trial has found that the combination of remdesivir plus a highly concentrated solution of antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is not more effective than remdesivir alone for treating adults hospitalized with the disease. The trial also found that the safety of this experimental treatment may vary depending on whether a person naturally generates SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies before receiving it. The results of the multinational Phase 3 trial were published today in the journal The Lancet.
Mix-and-Match Trial Finds Additional Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine Safe, Immunogenic
January 26, 2022
In adults who had previously received a full regimen of any of three COVID-19 vaccines granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an additional booster dose of any of these vaccines was safe and prompted an immune response, according to preliminary clinical trial results reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. The findings served as the basis for recommendations by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in late fall 2021 to permit mix-and-match COVID-19 booster vaccinations in the United States.
Statement—NIH Celebrates FDA Approval of Long-Acting Injectable Drug for HIV Prevention
December 21, 2021
Yesterday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced its first approval of a long-acting HIV prevention medication. Developed by ViiV Healthcare, the medicine is long-acting cabotegravir injected once every two months. FDA has approved the medicine for use by adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kilograms who are at risk of sexually acquiring HIV. This milestone marks a vital expansion of biomedical HIV prevention options available to people in the United States.
NIH Scientists Urge Pursuit of Universal Coronavirus Vaccine
December 16, 2021
A growing body of scientific evidence, considered together with ecological reality, strongly suggests that novel coronaviruses will continue to infect bats and other animal reservoirs and potentially emerge to pose a pandemic threat to humans. To counter future coronavirus outbreaks the global research community should focus on characterizing the range of coronavirus genetic diversity in multiple animal species; better understanding coronavirus disease pathogenesis in laboratory animal models and people; and applying this knowledge to the development of long-lasting, broadly protective coronavirus vaccines.
Experimental mRNA HIV Vaccine Safe, Shows Promise in Animals
December 9, 2021
An experimental HIV vaccine based on mRNA—the same platform technology used in two highly effective COVID-19 vaccines—shows promise in mice and non-human primates, according to scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Their results, published in Nature Medicine, show that the novel vaccine was safe and prompted desired antibody and cellular immune responses against an HIV-like virus.
NIH Statement on World AIDS Day
December 1, 2021
Since 1988, World AIDS Day has been an annual call to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic as we remember the many who lost their lives to the disease. Considerable progress has been made since the first World AIDS Day; however, far too many people continue to acquire HIV and die from its related illnesses. In 2020, an estimated 680,000 people globally died from HIV-related causes, and roughly 1.5 million people became newly infected with HIV, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Too Many People with HIV Fail to Achieve Durable Viral Suppression
November 29, 2021
Among people with HIV worldwide who are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), adults are getting closer to the global target of 95% achieving viral suppression, but progress among children and adolescents is lagging and long-term viral suppression among all groups remains a challenge. These findings of a study funded by the National Institutes of Health suggest that substantial efforts are needed to help people with HIV durably suppress the virus. The findings were published today in the journal The Lancet HIV.
Lung Autopsies of COVID-19 Patients Reveal Treatment Clues
November 17, 2021
Lung autopsy and plasma samples from people who died of COVID-19 have provided a clearer picture of how the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads and damages lung tissue. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health and their collaborators say the information, published in Science Translational Medicine, could help predict severe and prolonged COVID-19 cases, particularly among high-risk people, and inform effective treatments.
NIH Researchers Identify How Two People Controlled HIV After Stopping Treatment
October 28, 2021
Research led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health has identified two distinct ways that people with HIV can control the virus for an extended period after stopping antiretroviral therapy (ART) under medical supervision. This information could inform efforts to develop new tools to help people with HIV put the virus into remission without taking lifelong medication, which can have long-term side-effects.
Subcutaneous Interferon Does Not Improve Outcomes for Hospitalized Adults with COVID-19
October 18, 2021
A clinical trial has found that treatment with the immunomodulator interferon beta-1a plus the antiviral remdesivir was not superior to treatment with remdesivir alone in hospitalized adults with COVID-19 pneumonia. In addition, in a subgroup of patients who required high-flow oxygen, investigators found that interferon beta-1a was associated with more adverse events and worse outcomes. These findings were published today in the journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
NIAID Issues New Awards to Fund “Pan-Coronavirus” Vaccines
September 28, 2021
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded approximately $36.3 million to three academic institutions to conduct research to develop vaccines to protect against multiple types of coronaviruses and viral variants. The awards are intended to fuel vaccine research for a diverse family of coronaviruses, with a primary focus on potential pandemic-causing coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV-2.