The Progress of the AIDS Vaccine
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October 16, 2009 • written by Michie Alvaro
Filed under National/International News, News, featured
After decades of research and planning, scientists have finally discovered the initial taste of victory in finding the cure for HIV and AIDS. After many experiments and a large amount of research, scientists around the world have discovered the plausible cure in healing and preventing HIV and AIDS. But throughout recent experiments, some failures led many scientists to think such a vaccine might never be possible. The World Health Organization and the U.N. agency, UNAIDS, said the results “instilled new hope” in the field of HIV vaccine research, even though researchers say it will likely be many years before a vaccine might be available.
The first and only trial the scientists have experimented with the vaccine took place in Thailand. The study was done there because U.S. Army scientists did key research in that country when the AIDS epidemic appeared there, thus separating virus strains and supplying genetic information on the volunteers to vaccine makers. The Thai government also strongly supported the idea of doing the study. Thailand had a growing AIDS problem when the study started. Aggressive prevention efforts have noticeably cut the rates of new infections there, and only 125 infections happened in the entire study of more than 16,000 people.
Even a slightly helpful vaccine could have a big impact. Every day, 7,500 people worldwide are newly infected with HIV; 2 million died of AIDS in 2007. The study tested the two-vaccine combination in a “prime-boost” approach, in which the first one primes the immune system to attack HIV and the second one strengthens the response. The study tested the combo in HIV-negative Thai men and women aged 18 to 30 at average risk of becoming infected. Half received four “priming” doses of ALVAC and two “boost” doses of AIDSVAX over six months, the others received dummy shots. No one knew who got what result and what they were given until the study ended.
The vaccine had no effect on levels of HIV in the blood for those who did become infected. That had been another goal of the study — seeing whether the vaccine could limit damage to the immune system and help keep infected people from developing full-blown AIDS. This is the third big vaccine trial since 1983, when HIV was identified as the cause of AIDS. But even though they have been successful in piecing together how to make the vaccine and if it will work, there is still a lot of research and work left to be done, say scientists.
Scientists are not one hundred percent sure if the vaccine will completely function and fulfill the role that it was created for. And there is still a plausible chance of the vaccine backfiring and causing damage on those who received it. But if the vaccine does work, and there are many results of the vaccine curing HIV and AIDS, it might become a requirement at schools in order to prevent children from obtaining the infection. There are many different views on this subject and on the vaccine being needed.
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