AIDS

I don't recall...damn, I hate quoting Dubya administration officials, if I wrote on this blog about the seeming breakthrough with the AIDS vaccine scientists had possibly developed. A report about said vaccine came out maybe a year ago or so, and I think it was even highlighted on 60 Minutes.

Well, considering how vaccine's work, they give you a weakened strain of a virus to get your immune system to recognize the threat and beat it up while it's incredibly weak (the layman's version of how a vaccine works from this bloke's understanding), I was willing to believe although skeptical of the reports when I heard about them.

This, considering the overall pathology of the HIV virus that leads to AIDS, was an incredible feat. A pathology that says the HIV virus essentially neutralizes the immune system upon impact, and silently destroys it, laying dormant (unseen) for a good decade or so. It struck me as odd that scientists would purposefully give someone the HIV virus in an attempt to essentially inoculate said person. It struck me that this particular virus was so powerful, so good at replicating itself, while mutating into altogether genetically unique strains, was not an ideal candidate for a vaccine...it would take a monumental cure to beat this virus.

But, hey, who am I? I'm no scientist, I totally bombed chemistry, and the periodic table is a cute little device that is fun to look at for a good 5 minutes. Scientists had seemingly overtaken (this word may be a stretch) such deadly viruses as the Bubonic Plague (aka: The Black Death) that overtook London in the 17th century. Although, cases of the Plague do still crop up and there have been scattered reports to a drug-resistant strain having been discovered.

So, I thought, who is to say that the hype, the rhetoric surrounding HIV & AIDS made it seem worse than it was, and it really was no worse than the hype made around the Black Death. Logically, one wouldn't really believe this because of the sheer amount of money and resources that have been put into beating this particular virus, and we know so much about it's pathology.

I am sad to report, however, that according to The Daily Mail in London, the vaccine trials have been halted indefinitely. It was revealed that "two supposed 'miracle' vaccines not only fail to protect people from the virus, but could put them at greater risk of becoming infected."

Moreover they report, "tests appeared to show that the vaccine somehow primed it to become more susceptible to HIV."

Clearly, devastating news to the HIV & AIDS community and researchers. This could mark a step back to square one it seems. Lots of money and lives lost.

All the more reason to promote safe sex and condom use in schools, not just abstinence.