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Moderna is announcing three new vaccine programs

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Re: Moderna is announcing three new vaccine programs

#171

One of these is for the little known Nipah virus. This virus is really scary. Like the Coronavirus, it jumps to humans from bats. Unlike the Coronavirus, it is extremely lethal. In the last outbreak, in 2018 [1], the case fatality rate was 89%. Fortunately, there were only 19 cases (17 died). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Nipah_virus_outbreak_in_K...

I'd assume fowl to be much more common carriers but why are bats always the ones? Is there something glaring that I am missing?

Re: Moderna is announcing three new vaccine programs

#172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AIDS, for instance, also had an extremely high case fatality rate before modern treatment but due to it's slow progression it can spread just fine.

+1. btw, maybe moderna can go after AIDS sometime later? I wonder how mRNA vaccines will work for AIDS patients...

If only there were some sort of... article you could read to find out about Moderna's vaccine plans :-P

"The development programs announced today are mRNA vaccine candidates against seasonal flu, HIV and the Nipah virus."

Re: Moderna is announcing three new vaccine programs

#173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AIDS, for instance, also had an extremely high case fatality rate before modern treatment but due to it's slow progression it can spread just fine.

+1. btw, maybe moderna can go after AIDS sometime later? I wonder how mRNA vaccines will work for AIDS patients...

HIV is one of the three new programs in this announcement. So yes, that's precisely what they're hoping.

(Pedantry: HIV is the virus that causes the disease AIDS. The goal is to prevent AIDS by vaccinating against HIV. It's unlikely that the vaccine would be able to help patients who already have AIDS.)

Re: Moderna is announcing three new vaccine programs

#174

One of these is for the little known Nipah virus. This virus is really scary. Like the Coronavirus, it jumps to humans from bats. Unlike the Coronavirus, it is extremely lethal. In the last outbreak, in 2018 [1], the case fatality rate was 89%. Fortunately, there were only 19 cases (17 died). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Nipah_virus_outbreak_in_K...

I'd assume fowl to be much more common carriers but why are bats always the ones? Is there something glaring that I am missing?

bats have an unusual immune system:

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bats-immune-system-virus...

Re: Moderna is announcing three new vaccine programs

#175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AIDS, for instance, also had an extremely high case fatality rate before modern treatment but due to it's slow progression it can spread just fine.

+1. btw, maybe moderna can go after AIDS sometime later? I wonder how mRNA vaccines will work for AIDS patients...

[deleted]

Re: Moderna is announcing three new vaccine programs

#176

One of these is for the little known Nipah virus. This virus is really scary. Like the Coronavirus, it jumps to humans from bats. Unlike the Coronavirus, it is extremely lethal. In the last outbreak, in 2018 [1], the case fatality rate was 89%. Fortunately, there were only 19 cases (17 died). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Nipah_virus_outbreak_in_K...

I’d be a bit careful with those numbers. Who knows how many people really had it. Maybe a good number of cases showed no symptoms and thus were not detected?

Re: Moderna is announcing three new vaccine programs

#177

One of these is for the little known Nipah virus. This virus is really scary. Like the Coronavirus, it jumps to humans from bats. Unlike the Coronavirus, it is extremely lethal. In the last outbreak, in 2018 [1], the case fatality rate was 89%. Fortunately, there were only 19 cases (17 died). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Nipah_virus_outbreak_in_K...

Is my understanding correct that a virus so deadly would quickly peter out because it kills its hosts before it can spread?

Long incubation period with up to 6-21 days.

Re: Moderna is announcing three new vaccine programs

#178
Sorry if this is a stupid question, and I'm sure this is very positive news. But one question I didn't find an answer to in the press release: what's the value of using mRNA for flu vaccine? Will it result in a safer or more effective vaccine? Be cheaper and easier to produce? Something else?

I (mostly) understand the mRNA process, just curious about why it'd be superior.

Re: Moderna is announcing three new vaccine programs

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1. btw, maybe moderna can go after AIDS sometime later? I wonder how mRNA vaccines will work for AIDS patients...

HIV is one of the three new programs in this announcement. So yes, that's precisely what they're hoping. (Pedantry: HIV is the virus that causes the disease AIDS. The goal is to prevent AIDS by vaccinating against HIV. It's unlikely that the vaccine would be able to help patients who already have AIDS.)

damn I have a habit of only reading HN comments and guessing what the article is about

Re: Moderna is announcing three new vaccine programs

#180

Sorry if this is a stupid question, and I'm sure this is very positive news. But one question I didn't find an answer to in the press release: what's the value of using mRNA for flu vaccine? Will it result in a safer or more effective vaccine? Be cheaper and easier to produce? Something else? I (mostly) understand the mRNA process, just curious about why it'd be superior.

Well, most flu vaccines today are made by infecting fertilized eggs, so an mRNA vaccine would have the advantage of being vegan. It may eventually become cheaper to manufacture.
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