The programme, titled “Horizon Special: The Vaccine”, documented the development, by the University of Queensland and biotechnology company CSL, of a COVID vaccine candidate that never made it to market. The 63-second video begins with a social media narrator saying: “This is utter madness. Explaining the reason behind choosing the HIV protein, Chappell says on-camera that the protein was picked because it’s well understood and presents no risks, including having no role in helping HIV to make copies of itself: “It’s a highly stable structure. VACCINE CANDIDATE DROPPEDThe social media clip fails to acknowledge that the production of the Australian vaccine candidate was halted following the discovery that it temporarily caused false-positive HIV tests due to the presence of the protein. The Australian vaccine candidate contained an HIV protein which posed no safety threat, but led the vaccine candidate to be dropped before ever making it to larger trials because it produced false-positive test results for HIV.

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Persons: Keith Chappell, Chappell, ” Chappell, Read Organizations: University of Queensland, CSL, BBC, University of Queensland’s, Reuters, HIV, Thomson Locations: ”