By L. K. Regan
Published Sep 24, 2009
The world's largest HIV vaccine trial has produced results—a 31 percent reduction in HIV infections among study participants. This result was both a surprise to many HIV researchers and a sign that the lengthy search for an effective vaccine may be at least beginning to produce results. But with no one yet knowing why the vaccine works, this is only the beginning.
The vaccine trial was conducted in Thailand beginning in 2003. It enrolled 16,402 HIV-negative men and women and was the largest HIV vaccine trial yet conducted. The study was a pioneering joint effort between the U.S. Army, Thailand, the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Sanofi Pasteur, and Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases (GSID). The purpose of the trial was to test Sanofi's ALVAC vaccine in combination with GSID's AIDSVAX (originally developed by Genentech). Study participants were given either a combination of the two vaccines, or a placebo injection. While unimpressive in flat numerical terms—74 placebo recipients became HIV infected over the course of the study as compared with 51 vaccine subjects—this amounts to a 31 percent reduction in the risk of getting HIV for vaccine recipients.
As NIAID director and AIDS researcher Dr. Anthony Fauci told The New York Times, "I don’t want to use a word like ‘breakthrough,’ but I don’t think there’s any doubt that this is a very important result." Ordinarily researchers are looking for well over 50 percent effectiveness to consider a vaccine legitimate. But HIV vaccine trials have so far yielded little result, meaning that 31 percent effectiveness constitutes a radical leap forward. And it could not have been more unexpected, for a host of reasons. AIDSVAX was the first HIV vaccine ever tested, and it was a proven failure. Likewise, the other vaccine used in the Thailand study, ALVAC, did not seem to stimulate strong immune responses in healthy people. And thus far, combination vaccines had produced little sign of efficacy against HIV. Why the combination of two otherwise ineffective vaccines actually worked is a mystery—and means that the next step in research is not obvious.
Despite being 31 percent effective, the combined vaccine showed some signs of operating differently than a standard vaccine. For instance, researchers expected that vaccinated subjects who became infected despite vaccination would have at least some increased immunity against the virus. But in fact, no such results were found. This may indicate that the vaccines may act on the body's own white blood cells, rather than producing antibodies that counter the virus itself. Such complexities have been a feature of HIV vaccine research. While the researchers do not yet understand how this new vaccine combo might work, they see the new lines of research it offers as a way out of a trap, since traditional vaccine structures have utterly failed with HIV. For instance, in 2007, trials of a Merck vaccine were stopped after it was found that, in addition to not preventing HIV, the vaccine actually increased risk of infection for some men.
Against such a backdrop, the Thailand results are primarily a first step toward new avenues of research into the ways a vaccine might act on this complex virus. As Dr. Fauci told the Times, "For more than 20 years now, vaccine trials have essentially been failures. Now it’s like we were groping down an unlit path, and a door has been opened. We can start asking some very important questions."
...of the inconsistencies and inaccuracies of the stories shared by my much older gay brothers who lived in and through the 80’s and are now still and happily alive in their 50’s and 60’. I look forward to a cure, but I must also look back about 26 years or so since one was promised, and that makes me question. The point is we live in a democratic society in which we should welcome different even dissenting voices, views and opinion as that is often how inroads are made to new discoveries. After all, the world was once flat, the earth was the center of the universe and of course the sun revolved around it. Columbus, Bruno and Galileo were ridiculed but in the end, they were right. I leave off with some of my favorite quotes by Einstein: "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction.", "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." And "The most important thing is to never stop questioning" and lastly, "True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing" –Socrates
I truly and wholeheartedly wish all of you, regardless of your views, all the best! In the end, we are all ultimately on the same side wishing, hoping and preying to be free of this torturous chapter in the history of man.
Time will tell, let’s leave it at that.
Peace
I actually have no fear about this stuff, the truth comforts me, and I truly believe it comes out in the end. As per big pharma wanting to squelch a vaccine in the name of profits, perhaps you didn't hear about the landmark lawsuit and the government website link is at the bottom. Here is a synopsis:
Pfizer pleads guilty to felony crime in fraudulent marketing of Bextra, pays billions in fines. "The size and seriousness of this resolution, including the huge criminal fine of $1.3 billion, reflect the seriousness and scope of Pfizer's crim...es," said Mike Loucks, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. "Pfizer violated the law over an extensive
time period. Furthermore, at the very same time Pfizer was in our office negotiating and resolving the allegations of criminal conduct by its then newly acquired subsidiary, Warner-Lambert, Pfizer was itself in its other operations violating those very same laws. Today's enormous fine demonstrates that such blatant and continued disregard of
the law will not be tolerated."Department of Justice web release: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/September/09-aag-900.html Big pharma doesn't care about you, your brother or me, just as long as it can profit and last year it made 642 billion as an industry.
As per being on the front line, I have a huge amount of respect for Doctors and your brother, sometimes I think they are innocent pawns themselves, attempting to make a difference but whose research is only as good as their questionable source material supplied by said questionable sources. A good book on the subject written by an expert investigative journalist cam be viewed here and view the comments by readers below.http://www.amazon.com/Fear-Invisible-Janine-Roberts/dp/0955917727/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251807907&sr=8-1 Her research intentions and convictions were similar to your brothers as well. Those changed after some interesting findings which fit in with so many
I participated in one of the first AIDS vaccine trials.
I volunteered my time and bloodstream in hopes of doing something positive for the community. It was early in vaccine testing and there was still a lot of mistrust (and blustery ignorance) from within the community about the safety of taking a killed-virus vaccine, government reporting, etc. I put myself forward to show others that it was and is okay to do so.
I got shots every three months over a three-year period, here in West Hollywood, at a little clinic in the park. At the end of the trial, I found out I had been getting a sterile water placebo, not active vaccine. (I had been randomly selected as a control patient.)
Please don't be afraid of this stuff. Wild assertions here that pharma would squelch a vaccine may make for punchy-sounding postings, but are unrealistic and frankly, irresponsible. One day spent in the company of AIDS researchers in the trenches would dispel your concerns and perhaps leave you feeling a bit foolish about the allegations you'd made.
My brother is one of those doctors. He's been working on treatment and a cure for AIDS for 20 years. He heads a research lab at the University of Minnesota. You insult him, his team, and the entire effort. For certain, any glimmer of progress from his experiments or patient interactions would fast-track to the front page of the newspapers.
Another thing -- overall, very little of the vaccine testing has taken place out of public scrutiny. Just because the news sources you turn to haven't covered this doesn't mean there's some dark conspiracy. Perhaps it just means that if you wish to stay informed, you will have to work a little harder, look at science and medical journals, etc. Blame yourself and CNN, not doctors and administrators running a study.
Again ... please, can we leave the conspiracy theories to the JFK assassination web threads? Really?
Looking forward to the cure,
Ben Patrick Johnson
Los Angeles, CA
p.s. I forgot to add the fact that there have been many failed vaccine attempts in the past. This is done every few years to raise hopes and bring awareness to the "cause" and usher in a new wave of funding. Vaccines in general have a spotty history of effectiveness themselves in other instances: http://www.naturalnews.com/026951_vaccination_polio_immune_system.html and here are some actual stats: http://www.naturalnews.com/026940_vaccines_vaccination_health.html
There will never be a vaccine, too much money to be made via supposed research and damage control/screening and monitoring. A vaccine has been promised since back in '83, just like the war on cancer (with the hope of a cure or better treatments, which are by and far largely the same, slash and burn) was launched in '71 by Richard Nixon, but to no avail. Too many (profit motivated) vested interests. Just my opinion =')
I think these are great news!
There are results in search engines when you look for the cure. Here is a link I found.
http://www.fox11az.com/news/topstories/stories/NWkmsb20080730_hiv_breakt-hrough.1971ecbd.html
"Omatix"
You seem to miss the point and are either naive or extremely optimistic about how our government and scientist in the medical fields do things. First of all let's look at the facts first, which is what I was stating. Other than the highlighted "goodnews" let's look at how this report is documented, what is written, what is not mentioned or written, and how things are phrased. Now they had some 16,000 people men/women "participate" not volunteer for this 7 year experiment. Where do you think the money came from to fund our military to assist in efforts to accomplish this project? I know Bush didn't put a down payment on this when he was in office that's for sure. Second what exactly is this New Vaccine, who made it, and how was it authorized? Now I wasn't saying this was a waste of MONEY however how much did this cost, and why was it just NOW brought to mainstream media? Looking at the track record especially concerning Merck "vaccines" is not all that grand of wonderful news and such. In fact it's disheartening to know that Merck, Sharp, & Dome were in connection to the discovery & manufacturing of AIDS, Swine Flu 1976, Herpes etc. These and the programs are not good nor are their intentions. Maybe do some research on these people and companies before you, like many others begin to think they are your medical saviors. And why no comment about my remark on the swine flu, is that too self evident of what's happening now and the intentions behind that, or were you not educated on that either?
@UnifiedAron04
When human subjects are used in trials such as this, there are strict rules governing how the study is carried out and how the subjects are treated. Unless you have evidence to the contrary, there is no reason to suspect that these participants were somehow "tricked" into taking part. Thailand was likely chosen because there is a high rate of HIV infection; this means that a study can reach statistically significant rates of infection with a lower total number of subjects than in countries where HIV infection is less prevalent. Not because people were (and it's offensive to even suggest this) somehow easier to "trick" into taking part in Thailand than elsewhere. I imagine that individuals were recruited by being asked if they'd be willing to participate in a study of an HIV vaccine, and were probably given long lectures on how it was highly unlikely to work. A placebo group is necessary in any study like this, and does not represent a moral failing of some kind; rather, it provides the only way in which we can know if the vaccine is effective - by comparison to an identically-selected untreated group.
To address your claims that this is some kind of waste of taxpayer money, I point you to the result of the study. This is apparently the first vaccine against HIV that has had any success. I expect that most people would disagree that this was a waste of money.
Ok is it me? Or does ANYONE see a BIG problem of people "the majority" not being informed on a "study" that's been going on for 7 years?! In Thailand of all places concerning an HIV trial vaccine? I saw this story in the BBC news last night and even book marked it. Since our military was involved in "helping" to distribute this vaccine project how many tax dollars did we unknowingly pay for another "shot in dark" censored experiment concerning other world genie pigs? I think what's alarming is that the previous "trials" that were attempted were a complete disaster and made most more susceptible if not all to contracting HIV or even developing the virus from the attempted vaccine. That however, was kept as quiet as it possibly could be kept. I don't personally have faith in the system, the medical industry, or the "government's" that oversee these "operations." Besides how many of these men and women knew they were participating in this "study?" What exactly were they told? "Hey, come on over here and get your anti-malaria shot!" When actually it was a blend of two unknown ineffective vaccines that so "happen" to be effective together "mysteriously?" Oh and NO WHERE did I see the word "VOLUNTEER" in the article, it was "Participants." Yeah let's hear the rest of the story and how they "the big boys" plan to profit or weaponize this new discovery! Come on people read between the lines and see the underlying factor here. Had the bottle not spun on success this story would have NEVER been published. Oh and the "Swine Flu" and it's new "vaccine?" That's killed hundreds of thousands and is mandatory by law, now? Don't get me started!!!
Sincerely, A
Small, yes, but the first trial to show real promise.
Still not quite sure on this one. It's still statistics of small numbers.
I seriously think the LGBT community needs to organize a grass-roots fund raising effort to help advance such trials. As has been said repeatedly on the RJ forums and elsewhere, there likely exists a major disincentive for big pharma to kill off their cash cows by making a vaccine widely available. So, if we aren't going to look out for our own, who will? Although I am seriously considering a pledge of support for GSID, is there an effectual LGBT medical activism group for whom we might volunteer and/or contribute as it specifically relates to HIV/AIDS and Hep-C?
http://www.gsid.org/support_gsid.html
about_mike wrote:
...of the inconsistencies and inaccuracies of the stories shared by my much older gay brothers who lived in and through the 80’s and are now still and happily alive in their 50’s and 60’. I look forward to a cure, but I must also look back about 26 years or so since one was promised, and that makes me question. The point is we live in a democratic society in which we should welcome different even dissenting voices, views and opinion as that is often how inroads are made to new discoveries. After all, the world was once flat, the earth was the center of the universe and of course the sun revolved around it. Columbus, Bruno and Galileo were ridiculed but in the end, they were right. I leave off with some of my favorite quotes by Einstein: "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction.", "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." And "The most important thing is to never stop questioning" and lastly, "True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing" –Socrates
I truly and wholeheartedly wish all of you, regardless of your views, all the best! In the end, we are all ultimately on the same side wishing, hoping and preying to be free of this torturous chapter in the history of man.
Time will tell, let’s leave it at that.
Peace
Oct 01 5:44 PM
about_mike wrote:
I actually have no fear about this stuff, the truth comforts me, and I truly believe it comes out in the end. As per big pharma wanting to squelch a vaccine in the name of profits, perhaps you didn't hear about the landmark lawsuit and the government website link is at the bottom. Here is a synopsis:
Pfizer pleads guilty to felony crime in fraudulent marketing of Bextra, pays billions in fines. "The size and seriousness of this resolution, including the huge criminal fine of $1.3 billion, reflect the seriousness and scope of Pfizer's crim...es," said Mike Loucks, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. "Pfizer violated the law over an extensive
time period. Furthermore, at the very same time Pfizer was in our office negotiating and resolving the allegations of criminal conduct by its then newly acquired subsidiary, Warner-Lambert, Pfizer was itself in its other operations violating those very same laws. Today's enormous fine demonstrates that such blatant and continued disregard of
the law will not be tolerated."Department of Justice web release: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/September/09-aag-900.html Big pharma doesn't care about you, your brother or me, just as long as it can profit and last year it made 642 billion as an industry.
As per being on the front line, I have a huge amount of respect for Doctors and your brother, sometimes I think they are innocent pawns themselves, attempting to make a difference but whose research is only as good as their questionable source material supplied by said questionable sources. A good book on the subject written by an expert investigative journalist cam be viewed here and view the comments by readers below.http://www.amazon.com/Fear-Invisible-Janine-Roberts/dp/0955917727/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251807907&sr=8-1 Her research intentions and convictions were similar to your brothers as well. Those changed after some interesting findings which fit in with so many
Oct 01 5:21 PM
Ben_Patrick_Johnson wrote:
I participated in one of the first AIDS vaccine trials.
I volunteered my time and bloodstream in hopes of doing something positive for the community. It was early in vaccine testing and there was still a lot of mistrust (and blustery ignorance) from within the community about the safety of taking a killed-virus vaccine, government reporting, etc. I put myself forward to show others that it was and is okay to do so.
I got shots every three months over a three-year period, here in West Hollywood, at a little clinic in the park. At the end of the trial, I found out I had been getting a sterile water placebo, not active vaccine. (I had been randomly selected as a control patient.)
Please don't be afraid of this stuff. Wild assertions here that pharma would squelch a vaccine may make for punchy-sounding postings, but are unrealistic and frankly, irresponsible. One day spent in the company of AIDS researchers in the trenches would dispel your concerns and perhaps leave you feeling a bit foolish about the allegations you'd made.
My brother is one of those doctors. He's been working on treatment and a cure for AIDS for 20 years. He heads a research lab at the University of Minnesota. You insult him, his team, and the entire effort. For certain, any glimmer of progress from his experiments or patient interactions would fast-track to the front page of the newspapers.
Another thing -- overall, very little of the vaccine testing has taken place out of public scrutiny. Just because the news sources you turn to haven't covered this doesn't mean there's some dark conspiracy. Perhaps it just means that if you wish to stay informed, you will have to work a little harder, look at science and medical journals, etc. Blame yourself and CNN, not doctors and administrators running a study.
Again ... please, can we leave the conspiracy theories to the JFK assassination web threads? Really?
Looking forward to the cure,
Ben Patrick Johnson
Los Angeles, CA
Oct 01 4:09 PM
about_mike wrote:
p.s. I forgot to add the fact that there have been many failed vaccine attempts in the past. This is done every few years to raise hopes and bring awareness to the "cause" and usher in a new wave of funding. Vaccines in general have a spotty history of effectiveness themselves in other instances: http://www.naturalnews.com/026951_vaccination_polio_immune_system.html and here are some actual stats: http://www.naturalnews.com/026940_vaccines_vaccination_health.html
Oct 01 3:58 PM
about_mike wrote:
There will never be a vaccine, too much money to be made via supposed research and damage control/screening and monitoring. A vaccine has been promised since back in '83, just like the war on cancer (with the hope of a cure or better treatments, which are by and far largely the same, slash and burn) was launched in '71 by Richard Nixon, but to no avail. Too many (profit motivated) vested interests. Just my opinion =')
Oct 01 3:49 PM
Quarko wrote:
I think these are great news!
Sep 30 11:24 PM
CreaseHem wrote:
There are results in search engines when you look for the cure. Here is a link I found.
http://www.fox11az.com/news/topstories/stories/NWkmsb20080730_hiv_breakt-hrough.1971ecbd.html
Sep 26 2:34 AM
UnifiedAron04 wrote:
"Omatix"
You seem to miss the point and are either naive or extremely optimistic about how our government and scientist in the medical fields do things. First of all let's look at the facts first, which is what I was stating. Other than the highlighted "goodnews" let's look at how this report is documented, what is written, what is not mentioned or written, and how things are phrased. Now they had some 16,000 people men/women "participate" not volunteer for this 7 year experiment. Where do you think the money came from to fund our military to assist in efforts to accomplish this project? I know Bush didn't put a down payment on this when he was in office that's for sure. Second what exactly is this New Vaccine, who made it, and how was it authorized? Now I wasn't saying this was a waste of MONEY however how much did this cost, and why was it just NOW brought to mainstream media? Looking at the track record especially concerning Merck "vaccines" is not all that grand of wonderful news and such. In fact it's disheartening to know that Merck, Sharp, & Dome were in connection to the discovery & manufacturing of AIDS, Swine Flu 1976, Herpes etc. These and the programs are not good nor are their intentions. Maybe do some research on these people and companies before you, like many others begin to think they are your medical saviors. And why no comment about my remark on the swine flu, is that too self evident of what's happening now and the intentions behind that, or were you not educated on that either?
Sep 25 11:04 PM
Omatix wrote:
@UnifiedAron04
When human subjects are used in trials such as this, there are strict rules governing how the study is carried out and how the subjects are treated. Unless you have evidence to the contrary, there is no reason to suspect that these participants were somehow "tricked" into taking part. Thailand was likely chosen because there is a high rate of HIV infection; this means that a study can reach statistically significant rates of infection with a lower total number of subjects than in countries where HIV infection is less prevalent. Not because people were (and it's offensive to even suggest this) somehow easier to "trick" into taking part in Thailand than elsewhere. I imagine that individuals were recruited by being asked if they'd be willing to participate in a study of an HIV vaccine, and were probably given long lectures on how it was highly unlikely to work. A placebo group is necessary in any study like this, and does not represent a moral failing of some kind; rather, it provides the only way in which we can know if the vaccine is effective - by comparison to an identically-selected untreated group.
To address your claims that this is some kind of waste of taxpayer money, I point you to the result of the study. This is apparently the first vaccine against HIV that has had any success. I expect that most people would disagree that this was a waste of money.
Sep 25 10:19 PM
UnifiedAron04 wrote:
Ok is it me? Or does ANYONE see a BIG problem of people "the majority" not being informed on a "study" that's been going on for 7 years?! In Thailand of all places concerning an HIV trial vaccine? I saw this story in the BBC news last night and even book marked it. Since our military was involved in "helping" to distribute this vaccine project how many tax dollars did we unknowingly pay for another "shot in dark" censored experiment concerning other world genie pigs? I think what's alarming is that the previous "trials" that were attempted were a complete disaster and made most more susceptible if not all to contracting HIV or even developing the virus from the attempted vaccine. That however, was kept as quiet as it possibly could be kept. I don't personally have faith in the system, the medical industry, or the "government's" that oversee these "operations." Besides how many of these men and women knew they were participating in this "study?" What exactly were they told? "Hey, come on over here and get your anti-malaria shot!" When actually it was a blend of two unknown ineffective vaccines that so "happen" to be effective together "mysteriously?" Oh and NO WHERE did I see the word "VOLUNTEER" in the article, it was "Participants." Yeah let's hear the rest of the story and how they "the big boys" plan to profit or weaponize this new discovery! Come on people read between the lines and see the underlying factor here. Had the bottle not spun on success this story would have NEVER been published. Oh and the "Swine Flu" and it's new "vaccine?" That's killed hundreds of thousands and is mandatory by law, now? Don't get me started!!!
Sincerely, A
Sep 25 8:18 PM
ruck_us wrote:
Small, yes, but the first trial to show real promise.
Sep 25 2:23 PM
Sedative wrote:
Still not quite sure on this one. It's still statistics of small numbers.
Sep 25 2:15 PM
ruck_us wrote:
I seriously think the LGBT community needs to organize a grass-roots fund raising effort to help advance such trials. As has been said repeatedly on the RJ forums and elsewhere, there likely exists a major disincentive for big pharma to kill off their cash cows by making a vaccine widely available. So, if we aren't going to look out for our own, who will? Although I am seriously considering a pledge of support for GSID, is there an effectual LGBT medical activism group for whom we might volunteer and/or contribute as it specifically relates to HIV/AIDS and Hep-C?
http://www.gsid.org/support_gsid.html
Sep 25 5:39 AM