Last month researchers from the US Army and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced the successful trial of a new HIV vaccine. However, because the study was based on very few cases, skeptics argued whether the vaccine had any effect after all. Fast forward to this week’s AIDS Vaccine 2009 meeting in Paris where researchers reviewed more data from the trial and found the claims in which the vaccine reduced HIV infection rates by 31% were sound. Additionally, it appears that the vaccine actually was even more effective during the first year of immunization, reducing infection rates by as high as 60%. “It looked like there’s an early effect that wanes with time,” said Seth Berkley, chief executive of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. “It may be that the vaccine generates only weak antibodies against HIV, and these are only effective early on.” Although this vaccine isn’t ready for public use, the knowledge we gained from this research will certainly help in the production of new and improved HIV vaccines. [NEJM via New Scientist]
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.