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What is the status quo of clinical trials of HIV/AIDS vaccines in SA?

Are there any attempts to find an HIV vaccine in South Africa?

The HIV Vaccine Study was called Phambili and it was developed by SAAVI (South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative) United States’ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) – part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – the pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. Inc., and the NIAID-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN).

In September 2007 the trial was stopped because the vaccine did not prevent HIV infection. In some cases it was suspected that people who took the vaccine were more at risk of infection than those who received a placebo. In November 2008 the Minister of Health announced that no vaccine trail will go ahead until it was clear why the vaccine in this study did not work. At the moment there are no phase two vaccine trails that are being undertaken in South Africa.

For more information, contact HIV Vaccine Info-line on 080 VACCINE

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