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over 40 years since the discovery of HIV
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we still don't have a cure yet for
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covid-19 a virus that emerged just a few
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years ago vaccines were developed and
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rolled out within a year why the
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difference today we're breaking down the
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science the challenges and the progress
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Behind These two very different
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viruses HIV and covid-19 may seem
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similar they're both viruses that have
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impacted millions of lives and driven
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Global Health emergencies but they're
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fundamentally different in how they
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operate how they infect the body and how
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them covid-19 is caused by a Corona
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virus known as SARS K2 it spreads
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primarily through respiratory droplets
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causing respiratory symptoms it's a
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virus that our bodies can typically
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clear given time and a strong immune
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response in contrast HIV is a retrovirus
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it targets the immune system itself
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specifically attacking CD4 cells key
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players in our body's defense system
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the key difference lies in how these
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viruses behave once inside the body HIV
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isn't just a virus that infects and
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moves on it becomes a part of us it
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integrates its genetic material into our
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DNA this is why it's called a retrovirus
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it essentially turns back the clock and
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hides within our cell's genetic code the
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body's immune system can't recognize
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these infected cells as threats because
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they look like any other
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cell covid-19 on the other hand doesn't
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integrate into our DNA a it hijacks our
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cells to make copies of itself but once
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the body recognizes the virus it can
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mount an attack to eliminate it this
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fundamental difference is a huge factor
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in why finding a cure for HIV is so much
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harder another significant difference is
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the mutation rate covid-19 has mutated
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creating variants like Delta and Omron
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but HIV mutates even faster by orders of
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magnitude this makes it incredibly
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adaptable hiv's High mutation rate means
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that it's always one step ahead of our
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immune system and our
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treatments when researchers develop
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drugs or potential vaccines for HIV the
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virus often mutates before the treatment
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can be fully effective it's like trying
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to hit a Target that constantly changes
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appearance many people wonder how we
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developed vaccines for covid-19 so
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quickly the answer lies in timing
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technology and Global collaboration mRNA
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vaccine technology which was used for
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the five and Mna covid-19 vaccines
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wasn't invented overnight it's based on
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Research that had been ongoing for over
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a decade researchers had already been
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exploring mRNA technology for other
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viruses like the flu and even zika when
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covid-19 hit they were able to Pivot
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quickly using the spike protein of the
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Corona virus as the target for the
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vaccine this rapid pivot wouldn't have
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been possible without years of
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groundwork for HIV the focus isn't is n
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just on developing a vaccine it's on
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finding a cure there's a crucial
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distinction while a vaccine primes the
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immune system to prevent infection a
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cure aims to eliminate every last trace
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of the virus from an infected person's
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body given how HIV hides within our DNA
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task even when we use anti-retroviral
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therapy art which can suppress the virus
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to undetectable levels the virus still
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lurks in reservoirs hidden Pockets
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within the body these reservoirs can
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reactivate and start replicating if
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treatment stops which is why lifelong
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medication is currently the
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standard despite the challenges there
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have been significant breakthroughs in
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research we've seen the development of
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long acting injectable medications which
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reduce the need for daily pills and
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scientists are exploring Gene editing
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Technologies like crispr to directly
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Target and remove HIV infected cells the
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Cris PR offers a potential pathway to a
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functional Cure by cutting out the HIV
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DNA integrated into human cells we might
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one day eliminate the virus entirely
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however we're still in the early stages
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of This research and there's much to
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learn the road to a cure for HIV has
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been long and challenging but it's not
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due to a lack of effort or interest HIV
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is one of the most heavily researched
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viruses in history but its unique
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characteristics have made it incredibly
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resilient the good news is that the glob
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Global Response to covid-19 has shown
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what's possible when we mobilize
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resources and prioritize Public Health
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the lessons learned from the co9
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pandemic could help accelerate HIV
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research in ways we haven't seen
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before so while a covid-19 vaccine was
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developed quickly due to its more
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straightforward biology and existing
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research infrastructure HIV remains a
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more complex adversary but progress is
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being made and with new technologies and
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continued research we're closer than
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ever to finding a solution
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on the latest in HIV research and other
5:08
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