--- title: "Experimental COVID Vaccine Was Giving False Positives For HIV" description: "An experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed in Australia produced false positive test results for HIV in some trial participants, The New York Times reports." date: "2020-12-11" modified: "2020-12-11" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/experimental-covid-vaccine-false-positives-hiv" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "australia" - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "vaccine" --- # Experimental COVID Vaccine Was Giving False Positives For HIV ![An experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed in Australia produced false positive test results for HIV in some trial participants, The New York Times reports.]() *\Image: Image via Pixnio/Victor Tangermann\* An experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed in Australia produced false positive test results for HIV in some trial participants, [*The New York Times* reports](). "I’m sure a lot of people are very embarrassed by it," John Moore, immunologist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York who was not involved in the development of the vaccine, told the newspaper. "It’s not great to be associated with a mistake like this," he added. "But when you’re running at 90 miles an hour, sometimes you trip." Scientists abandoned development of the vaccine after the finding — the last thing you want is a vaccine that's in any way associated with HIV/AIDS, according to the *Times*. Phase 1 trials did, however, show that it did produce a strong immune response to the coronavirus. Researchers at the University of Queensland and biotech CSL used parts of the protein found in HIV to allow the immune system to respond to the coronavirus more effectively. While there was no risk of participants catching HIV, test results later came back positive. The theory, according to the *Times*, is that HIV protein fragments included in the vaccine produced specific antibodies that HIV tests pick up on — and to the scientists surprise, the tests were able to pick up on these antibodies despite the low concentrations of these fragments. Unfortunately, the Australian government had poured roughly $750 million into the project already. But Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised on Friday that it will compensate by ordering more doses of vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Novavax, according to the *NYT*. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()