AEGiS-WSJ: Letters to the Editor: Vaccines Offer Hope In Battle Against HIV

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1992. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Letters to the Editor: Vaccines Offer Hope In Battle Against HIV

The Wall Street Journal - 24 Jun 1992
John F. Krowka, San Francisco

Your May 26 article on HIV vaccines was unduly pessimistic. It is true that the polymorphism of HIV, particularly in its envelope proteins, is likely to preclude the development of a "perfect" vaccine that would be 100% effective in the prevention or treatment of HIV infections. A large body of scientific evidence, however, indicates that vaccines currently in development may be useful, even if they fall short of this idealized goal. It is important to remember that vaccines, like other drugs, do not have to be perfect. They need only to show enough beneficial effects to justify their costs.

Some immune responses inhibit HIV and may be beneficial to individuals who are at risk of exposure to this virus or are already infected. By using a cocktail of proteins or peptides from the most common HIV types, it may be possible to stimulate immune responses selectively that would be effective against many or most HIV isolates. The approach pursued by the Merck/MedImmune/Repligen alliance is particularly appealing. By incorporating selected pieces of HIV into the tuberculosis vaccine BCG, it may be possible to stimulate strong and long-lasting immune responses to HIV. A recombinant HIV-BCG vaccine might be particularly useful in Third World countries.

A vaccine that protected only 50% of individuals from infection, prolonged the lives of infected individuals, and/or minimized disease symptoms would not be perfect, but it still would be extremely valuable.

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WJ920601

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