An HIV vaccine trial dubbed this decade’s “last roll of the dice” has stopped vaccinations following disappointing results.
The PrEPVacc prevention study, led by African researchers with support from European scientists, was testing two experimental HIV vaccines alongside a new form of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
However, PrEPVacc’s leadership says that while there are “no concerns about the safety of the vaccines,” they have now halted the vaccine component of the trial due to its ineffectiveness in preventing HIV. It is recommended that the oral prep component of the trial continues.
The failure of the experimental vaccines is a massive blow to the medical community, which has hit countless dead ends since the first HIV vaccine trial began 36 years ago.
Although new HIV infections have been reduced dramatically since its peak in the mid-1990s, UNAIDS most recent data outlines that 39 million people currently live with the infection worldwide. Over half are women and girls, with young women and girls (15-24) accounting for 77% of new cases in sub-Saharan Africa.
The medical community still does not have a working HIV vaccine and ahead of this trial one of those involved warned another such study was unlikely until the 2030s. (CNN)
