Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - June 19, 2004
Apiradee Treerutkuarkul
The trial, started last September, aims to have 16,000 volunteers in Chon Buri and Rayong given either a vaccine or placebo over the one-year period, with follow-ups for three years.
But only 6,000 people have volunteered. Of these, about 4,000 have been vaccinated.
Pensri Tasnavites, a UNAids official, said a lack of accurate information about the United States-sponsored vaccine trial led to doubts about its safety among potential volunteers. "Authorities should be open-minded and willing to give the facts about the vaccine trial to the public so that they will realise its importance," she said at a workshop to look at ways of improving public awareness. "It is the main factor leading the project to success and benefits all of us."
Ignorance threatens to derail the trial, she said. The so-called prime-boost test combines two vaccines - Alvac from the French firm Aventis Pasteur and AidVAX B/E made by the California-based VaxGen Inc.
A study released at the workshop found both high-risk groups in the sex industry and public health officials had negative attitudes towards the vaccine trial. It also found that Bangkok residents were the least aware of Aids, its problems and impact on families and communities. They were followed by residents of Chon Buri and Rayong, the eastern provinces where the vaccine trial is being undertaken.
The study, conducted by the Health Counterpart Consulting Group and the Public Health Ministry's Aids Division, randomly surveyed 1,107 academics, medical service providers, people with HIV/Aids, sex workers and non-governmental health advocates nationwide.
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