• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • GMA3: WYNTK
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2025 ABC News
  • Wellness

Moderna launches clinical trial for HIV vaccine that uses mRNA technology

1:20
National headlines from ABC News
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images, FILE
ByMary Kekatos
January 27, 2022, 8:08 PM

Moderna announced Thursday that it's launched early-stage clinical trials of an HIV mRNA vaccine.

The biotechnology company has teamed up with the nonprofit ​​International AIDS Vaccine Initiative to develop the shot, which uses the same technology as Moderna's successful COVID-19 vaccine.

Related Articles

MORE: Moderna begins testing omicron-matched COVID shots in adults

The first participants in the Phase I trial were given doses at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C., according to a company statement.

"We are tremendously excited to be advancing this new direction in HIV vaccine design with Moderna's mRNA platform," Dr. Mark Feinberg, president and CEO of IAVI, said in a statement. "The search for an HIV vaccine has been long and challenging, and having new tools in terms of immunogens and platforms could be the key to making rapid progress toward an urgently needed, effective HIV vaccine."

A view of Moderna headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., May 8, 2020.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images, FILE

Nearly 38 million people worldwide -- including about 1.3 million in the U.S -- are living with HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, which can lead to the potentially fatal disease AIDS.

Being diagnosed with HIV was once considered a death sentence. During the height of the U.S. AIDS epidemic in the mid-1990s, more than 50,000 deaths occurred every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Today, HIV is much more manageable with medications that can reduce viral loads to undetectable so the virus can't be transmitted, as well as pills that can be taken to prevent infecting those who are HIV-negative.

But despite decades of research, no vaccine has ever been developed. Several candidates have entered clinical trials but failed in later stages.

The new vaccine uses mRNA, or messenger RNA, which teaches the body's cells how to make proteins that trigger immune responses.

Researchers have developed not only a primary vaccine but also a booster to deliver HIV immunogens -- molecules that elicit an immune response -- via mRNA.

The hope is this process can induce specific white blood cells, called B cells, which can then turn into what are known as broadly neutralizing antibodies that can neutralize the virus.

According to the statement, Phase I of the trial will enroll 56 healthy, HIV-negative adult participants at GWU and three additional sites: Hope Clinic of Emory Vaccine Center in Atlanta; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle; and the University of Texas-Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Of the volunteers, 48 will receive one or two doses of the mRNA vaccine, and 32 also will receive the booster. The remaining eight will receive just the booster.

Related Articles

MORE: Biden administration speaks out on federal blood donation policy impacting gay men amid national blood shortage

Researchers will then monitor for safety and efficacy of the new vaccine for up to six months after participants receive their final dose.

Moderna did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

ABC News' Sony Salzman contributed to this report.

Up Next in Wellness—

Increased screen time linked to aggression, anxiety, low self-esteem in kids, study finds

June 10, 2025

Gun deaths among children surge after states loosen firearm laws, new study finds

June 9, 2025

ESPN anchor Jay Harris announces prostate cancer diagnosis

June 5, 2025

'Bachelorette' alum Katie Thurston reveals memory loss amid breast cancer battle

June 3, 2025

Shop GMA Favorites

ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Sponsored Content by Taboola

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2025 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2025 ABC News