STAT: Vaccines: our greatest hope in defeating AIDS, Ebola, TB, and other infectious diseases
Mark Feinberg, president and CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative

“…The development of [Merck’s] Ebola vaccine candidate is a remarkable success story. It shows how public and private sectors can collaborate when they have a shared commitment to develop a highly effective and urgently needed vaccine. We need to foster even more effective multi-sector partnerships to address other established public health threats like HIV and tuberculosis (TB), and to proactively prepare for other infectious disease threats that will emerge in the future. … Researchers working on both HIV and TB vaccines must redouble their efforts to expedite the development of promising candidates and use emerging insights in immunology to hasten the design and development of even better ones. Success will only come from innovative science and creative partnerships between the public and private sectors, much like those that were formed during the 2014-2016 Ebola crisis. Defeating HIV and TB will ultimately depend on vaccines being affordable and accessible across the globe, particularly in the places where the burden of these diseases remains unacceptably high” (11/30).