HIV is a serious problem in many countries and there are efforts currently underway to discover a vaccine to the infamous virus. One such effort has recently begun in South Africa, where the disease has reached epidemic levels. The new vaccine trials provide new hope for the people affected and their families.
Although HIV can be kept under control thanks to drugs that suppress the activity of the virus, the spreading of the virus has not yet been addressed and it probably won’t be without a proper vaccine. Currently, in South Africa, more than a thousand people every day are infected with HIV to a population of around 53 million.
The new vaccine trials are officially known as HVTN 702 and the vaccine that is being tested is the modified version of a previous drug which showed a number of positive results in other trials in Thailand. The current study in South Africa hopes to involve around 5,400 sexually active men and women with ages between 18 and 35 in 15 locations across the country.
If the target number of participants is reached, the study will be the largest as well as the most advanced HIV vaccine trials to ever take place in South Africa. Many other institutions and health officials are hopeful about South Africa’s clinical trial. Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease has stated that a successful vaccine together with a number of HIV prevention tools will lead to the eradication of AIDS and of the HIV virus.
Compared to the previous version of the vaccine used in Thailand, which only showed a 31.2 percent efficiency rate in preventing the spread of HIV, the HVTN 702 hopes to provide greater and a more sustained protection over a longer period of time. The vaccine has also been adapted to combat the specific HIV subtype which is prevalent in southern Africa.
The clinical vaccine trials throughout the country are being funded by NIAID. The participants will be randomly assigned to either receive the actual vaccine or just a placebo. The exact trial involves treating the participants with five injections of the vaccine over a period of one year. The final results of the study are expected only until late 2020.
Image source: Pixabay
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