Post by BelizeanPoet on Mar 4, 2003 13:27:07 GMT -5
I read in a newspaper, an international section of the news titled “Hopes fade as AIDS vaccine fails test.
I read that “the first AIDS vaccine tested in a large-scale human trial has turned out to be a major disappointment. It offered the tantalizing hope that it could be somewhat effective in blacks and Asians.”<br>
The vaccine known as Aidsvax was tested on different races of people including blacks, Asians, whites and Hispanics. Test results show that the vaccine didn’t work in whites or Hispanics but provided some protection to a small number of blacks, Asians and other minorities who took part in the experiment.
The article further stated that “this is the first time that a vaccine has been shown to offer any protection against the AIDS virus. Company officials say much more work is needed to find out if their product holds promise for some ethnic groups.
“Not enough blacks and other minorities were part of the trial to make the findings anything but preliminary. Of the roughly 5,000 people who took part in the trial, 314 were black. Of those, 111 were given a placebo and 203 were injected with the actual vaccine. The infection rate among black volunteers who didn’t get the vaccine was nine out of 111, or 8.1 per cent. Only four of the 203 who got the vaccine, or 2 per cent contracted the AIDS virus.
Among Asians, two of 20 volunteers given the placebo contracted the virus, while only 22 of 53 given the vaccine were infected.
Scientist Phillip Berman, Senior Vice President of the company VaxGen (Researcher and Development Company of the vaccine) stated, “We are not sure yet why certain groups have a better immune response,”. Preliminary evidence suggests it stimulated their immune systems to mount a better defense against the virus.
So, it just goes to show that there are people out there who are trying to find cures and vaccines for this deadly disease. We should do our part as well to try and stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. What a happy day it will be when one of these cures or vaccines is developed that can cure/ and, or prevent the spread of the disease.
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE, EDUCATE YOURSELF ON THIS CRISIS.
I read that “the first AIDS vaccine tested in a large-scale human trial has turned out to be a major disappointment. It offered the tantalizing hope that it could be somewhat effective in blacks and Asians.”<br>
The vaccine known as Aidsvax was tested on different races of people including blacks, Asians, whites and Hispanics. Test results show that the vaccine didn’t work in whites or Hispanics but provided some protection to a small number of blacks, Asians and other minorities who took part in the experiment.
The article further stated that “this is the first time that a vaccine has been shown to offer any protection against the AIDS virus. Company officials say much more work is needed to find out if their product holds promise for some ethnic groups.
“Not enough blacks and other minorities were part of the trial to make the findings anything but preliminary. Of the roughly 5,000 people who took part in the trial, 314 were black. Of those, 111 were given a placebo and 203 were injected with the actual vaccine. The infection rate among black volunteers who didn’t get the vaccine was nine out of 111, or 8.1 per cent. Only four of the 203 who got the vaccine, or 2 per cent contracted the AIDS virus.
Among Asians, two of 20 volunteers given the placebo contracted the virus, while only 22 of 53 given the vaccine were infected.
Scientist Phillip Berman, Senior Vice President of the company VaxGen (Researcher and Development Company of the vaccine) stated, “We are not sure yet why certain groups have a better immune response,”. Preliminary evidence suggests it stimulated their immune systems to mount a better defense against the virus.
So, it just goes to show that there are people out there who are trying to find cures and vaccines for this deadly disease. We should do our part as well to try and stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. What a happy day it will be when one of these cures or vaccines is developed that can cure/ and, or prevent the spread of the disease.
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE, EDUCATE YOURSELF ON THIS CRISIS.