A Harvard group of scientists has made significant progress in the search for a method to prevent HIV infection. They have previously successfully tested the vaccine in humans - everyone who received the drug produced at least some kind of immune response against HIV, with at least 80% of the subjects producing more complex responses. The researchers also found that the same vaccine protected 67% of rhesus monkeys against the immunodeficiency virus in monkeys and humans, suggesting that it could be effective against HIV.
This does not mean yet that scientists have found an effective vaccine. While tests in monkeys are encouraging, more trials are needed to show that the drug can effectively prevent infections in humans. The next step is to test the vaccine on 2,600 women in southern Africa who are at risk of contracting HIV. It is one of five vaccines that have ever made it to such trials, but the previous ones were not effective enough to warrant further trials.
However, this vaccine has a powerful reason to be successful. Unlike past efforts that focused only on specific strains of HIV, this vaccine is a “mosaic” that includes parts of several strains to create a more versatile drug. If it proves to be effective, doctors can apply it widely where past vaccines have worked only for small populations, even if they were more effective. This decision is unlikely to be final, but it will at least make it possible to deal a serious blow to HIV.
Ilya Khel