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March 18, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"AIDS Vaccine May Be 10 Years Away"

Associated Press (www.ap.org) (03/15/02)

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the President's Advisory Council of HIV/AIDS on Friday that an effective AIDS vaccine may be a decade away.  He added, however, that clinical trials are currently being performed on what is called a prime-boost vaccine that appears to be very effective in monkeys, and it is anticipated to carry the same results into humans.  Fauci also noted that even marginally effective vaccines can have a profound impact on populations with high rates of infection.  He said that any eventual AIDS vaccine would probably be of the sort that needs periodic boosters, as opposed to a one-time injection, and he warned against complacency in the AIDS epidemic.

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