News Releases

505 Results

January 2022

Oral Immunotherapy Induces Remission of Peanut Allergy in Some Young Children

January 20, 2022

A clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health has found that giving peanut oral immunotherapy to highly peanut-allergic children ages 1 to 3 years safely desensitized most of them to peanut and induced remission of peanut allergy in one-fifth. The immunotherapy consisted of a daily oral dose of peanut flour for 2.5 years. Remission was defined as being able to eat 5 grams of peanut protein, equivalent to 1.5 tablespoons of peanut butter, without having an allergic reaction six months after completing immunotherapy.

December 2021

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.

Experimental mRNA HIV Vaccine Safe, Shows Promise in Animals

December 09, 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 01, 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).

November 2021

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.

Red HIV awareness ribbon in a person's hand

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.

This image shows a colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell infected with a variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (blue), isolated from a patient sample.

Long-Term Study of Children with COVID-19 Begins

November 15, 2021

A large, long-term study of the impacts of COVID-19 on children has enrolled its first participant at the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The study, which is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, will track up to 1,000 children and young adults who previously tested positive for COVID-19 and evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on their physical and mental health over three years.

This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (round yellow particles) emerging from the surface of a cell cultured in the lab

October 2021

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.

Media Availability—COVID Vaccine Booster Increases Antibody Responses, Is Protective in Rhesus Macaques

October 21, 2021

A booster dose of the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine given to rhesus macaques about six months after their primary vaccine series significantly increased levels of neutralizing antibodies against all known SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health scientists and colleagues.

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of chronically infected and partially lysed cells (green) infected with a variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (blue), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland.

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.

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell infected with SARS-CoV-2

September 2021

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.

NIAID Scientists Find a Key to Hepatitis C Entry into Cells

September 21, 2021

Understanding Structure of HCV Proteins Could Aid in Vaccine Development

A cluster of circular hepatitis virus particles, as captured by a transmission electron microscope.

August 2021

HIV Vaccine Candidate Does Not Sufficiently Protect Women Against HIV Infection

August 31, 2021

An investigational HIV vaccine tested in the “Imbokodo” clinical trial conducted in sub-Saharan Africa posed no safety concerns but did not provide sufficient protection against HIV infection, according to a primary analysis of the study data. The Phase 2b proof-of-concept study, which began in November 2017, enrolled 2,637 women ages 18 to 35 years from five countries.

NIH Launches Study of Extra COVID-19 Vaccine Dose in People with Autoimmune Disease

August 27, 2021

The National Institutes of Health has begun a clinical trial to assess the antibody response to an extra dose of an authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine in people with autoimmune disease who did not respond to an original COVID-19 vaccine regimen. The trial also will investigate whether pausing immunosuppressive therapy for autoimmune disease improves the antibody response to an extra dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in this population.

NIH Hamster Study Evaluates Airborne and Fomite Transmission of SARS-CoV-2

August 17, 2021

National Institutes of Health scientists studying SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have defined in Syrian hamsters how different routes of virus exposure are linked to disease severity. Their study, published in Nature Communications, details the efficiency of airborne transmission between hamsters and examines how the virus replicates and causes disease throughout the respiratory system. Their work also shows that virus transmission via fomites—exposure from contaminated surface contact—is markedly less efficient than airborne transmission but does occur.

This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (round red particles) emerging from the surface of a cell cultured in the lab.

NIH Makes Substantial New Investment in HIV Cure Research

August 17, 2021

The National Institutes of Health has awarded approximately $53 million in annual funding over the next five years to 10 research organizations in a continued effort to find a cure for HIV. The new awards for the Martin Delaney Collaboratories for HIV Cure Research program further expand the initiative’s 2016 renewal from six institutions to 10, and represent a funding increase of approximately 75 percent.

Monoclonal Antibody Prevents Malaria in Small NIH Trial

August 11, 2021

One dose of a new monoclonal antibody discovered and developed at the National Institutes of Health safely prevented malaria for up to nine months in people who were exposed to the malaria parasite. The small, carefully monitored clinical trial is the first to demonstrate that a monoclonal antibody can prevent malaria in people. The trial was sponsored and conducted by scientists from the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of NIH, and was funded by NIAID.

Malaria parasite connecting to human red blood cell

NIH Launches Study of Third COVID-19 Vaccine Dose in Kidney Transplant Recipients

August 10, 2021

A pilot study has begun to assess the antibody response to a third dose of an authorized COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in kidney transplant recipients who did not respond to two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The Phase 2 trial is sponsored and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (purple) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow)

July 2021

NIH Awards More than $20 Million to International HIV Database Centers

July 22, 2021

The National Institutes of Health has renewed grants to seven regional centers that compose the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA), awarding $20.8 million in first-year funding. The 15-year-old IeDEA program efficiently advances knowledge about HIV by pooling and analyzing de-identified health data from more than two million people with HIV on five continents to answer research questions that individual studies cannot address. The grants are expected to last five years and to total an estimated $100 million.

Beaded AIDS Awareness ribbon pin on knit scarf

June 2021

Investigational Malaria Vaccine Gives Strong, Lasting Protection

June 30, 2021

Two U.S. Phase 1 clinical trials of a novel candidate malaria vaccine have found that the regimen conferred unprecedentedly high levels of durable protection when volunteers were later exposed to disease-causing malaria parasites. The vaccine combines live parasites with either of two widely used antimalarial drugs—an approach termed chemoprophylaxis vaccination. A Phase 2 clinical trial of the vaccine is now underway in Mali, a malaria-endemic country.

Adjuvant Developed with NIH Funding Enhances Efficacy of India’s COVID-19 Vaccine

June 29, 2021

An adjuvant developed with funding from the National Institutes of Health has contributed to the success of the highly efficacious COVAXIN COVID-19 vaccine, which roughly 25 million people have received to date in India and elsewhere. Adjuvants are substances formulated as part of a vaccine to boost immune responses and enhance a vaccine’s effectiveness. COVAXIN was developed and is manufactured in India, which is currently suffering a devastating health crisis due to COVID-19.

SEM image of SARS-CoV-2 emerging from cultured cells

NIH Begins Study of COVID-19 Vaccination During Pregnancy and Postpartum

June 23, 2021

A new observational study has begun to evaluate the immune responses generated by COVID-19 vaccines administered to pregnant or postpartum people. Researchers will measure the development and durability of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in people vaccinated during pregnancy or the first two postpartum months. Researchers also will assess vaccine safety and evaluate the transfer of vaccine-induced antibodies to infants across the placenta and through breast milk.

NIH Scientists Describe “Multi-Kingdom Dialogue” Between Internal, External Microbiota