AIDS Vaccine Mostly A Failure?

[goofyfish]

AIDS vaccine mostly a failure
It helps some groups but doesn't work across the board

Now what is wrong with that headline?

A disappointed and puzzled Brisbane biotech firm announced Sunday that its experimental AIDS vaccine failed to protect white and Latino volunteers against HIV infections, while inexplicably shielding two-thirds of the black, Asian and other non-Latino minority participants…

… among the 4,511 white and Latino volunteers, the infection rates were virtually the same among those who received the vaccine and those who took the placebo.
However, among the 314 blacks in the study, those who received the vaccine were 78 percent less likely to contract HIV than those in the placebo group. When another 184 Asian and other non-Latino minority volunteers were added to the African American category, the effectiveness of the vaccine declined slightly to 67 percent… (Full text here )

What wonderful, marvelous news!

And how strangely it was presented. It is disturbing that they would consider it a failure because it doesn’t protect Caucasians. Blacks must feel like they are being continually poked with a sharp stick every time something like this happens.

:m: Peace.

 

[The Marquis]

People were... infected with HIV? To test the vaccine? Some were given a placebo.. assuming that they had recieved the HIV vaccine?

"Ah well, it appears you have HIV. Sorry about that, guess the vaccine didn't work - nice going black guys, looks like yours was a bit more effective. Umm... for everyone else, here's an address for your local medical group concerned with this sort of thing and, ah, good luck. Leave your contact details with the receptionist, and if we get this vaccine to work we'll let you know"

On a more serious note, I'm not really sure you're not looking too deeply into it, Goofy. If it had mostly worked for whites, and not blacks or asians, would the company have still considered it "mostly a failure"? I get your point, but I don't know if this is really an example of racism or if it merely appears that way because the company were disappointed it didn't work for everyone, and were therefore unable to proclaim it a compete success. You can't really call it racism until you see what the headline would have been in the reverse situation.

On the whole though, it does seem that it's a breakthrough, particularly as far as Africa's concerned... assuming of course they can distribute it.

 

[Mystech]

Heh, with all due respect, Marquis, I've got to assume that they took voulenteers who already had HIV, and then observed weather or not the dissease progressed to AIDS, when either the vaccene or plasebo were administerd. I don't think anyone would agree to being infected with HIV to test an experamental treatment

And I've got to agree with Goofy, it just seems like a very Australian move to call it a failure because it only seems to protect blacks. They're ALL raceists over in Australia. (Yes, I'm aware of the Irony in that statement, and hope that you are too).

 

[jps]

"By design, VaxGen recruited mostly gay male volunteers who were HIV- negative at the start of the trial."

This isn't a very well controlled study...They have no way of knowing how many of the people in it were exposed to HIV at all, perhaps something about the black and asian men in the study kept them away from HIV infected partners. The numbers were small enough that something like that, although unlikely, is very possible.

 

[The Marquis]

I know, Mystech, was just having some fun

By the way, I am Australian... and have in the past lived in SE asia for a couple of years. Australians are no more racist (generalisation) than any other country. The difference is that everybody believes we are because our faults are more widely reported, and we seem to feel guiltier about it than most. We're a target for accusation because we allow ourselves to be.

It's easier to report the failures of a nation which will acknowledge that fact, than it is to accuse a country who doesn't admit they have a problem - and there are plenty of those. A lot of our detractors haven't even realised the depth of their own racism yet, and feel quite justified at pointing the finger when they should be looking at themselves. Mahathir, for example, has made a few comments regarding Australia and it's supposed racism... and yet he presides over a nation where only ethnic Malays are allowed government posts. Hypocrites, all.

I have a feeling that if I became a hermit, and lived on a mountain with no contact with the outside world, I'd know as much of the truth of things as anyone.

 

[Mystech]

Wasn't trying to acctualy imply that I think Australians are more reacist across the board, just having a bit of fun, myself.