Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - July 28, 2008
But it's worth it. Painful as it may be, the injection is part of a group of vaccines that prevent diphtheria, typhoid and polio, diseases that are virtually eradicated in this country.
Why not AIDS too? For nearly two decades, scientists have worked to develop a shot that would ward off the HIV infection that leads to AIDS. But trial after trial has failed, with the latest and most disappointing setback this month.
Federal scientists called off a test of an experimental vaccine costing $160 million with 8,500 volunteers. Early indications showed the vaccine wasn't meeting expectations. The decision followed a canceled test last year of another once-promising vaccine.
With 40 million people worldwide infected by HIV, there's no question that work will continue. More money than ever is spent on prevention and treatment, topped by congressional approval last week of a White House plan to spend $48 billion over the next five years. Year by year, more people are receiving treatment, though this help comes after infection. Educational programs are also credited with holding down the numbers of people who could become infected.
But what everyone is waiting for is a fail-safe vaccine, a medical brick wall that can stop an infection from taking hold. The best medicine right now tamps down AIDS symptoms.
A vaccine remains frustratingly distant. For starters, the federal initiative must continue. That means a larger budget for the National Institutes of Health, the central research agency behind the AIDS vaccine. Private biotech firms remain leery of heavy investments in a vaccine that could be quickly copied by rivals or face heavy public pressure to limit prices.
A team of researchers, writing in Science magazine last week, were even more blunt, suggesting a huge breakthrough will be needed to vault over the dead ends of today. It will take "enormous intellectual leaps beyond present day knowledge" to come up with an AIDS vaccine, the scientists said.
It's a towering challenge, but one that can't be avoided. An AIDS vaccine must be found.
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