Thursday, September 24, 2009
Combining Two Failed HIV Vaccines Makes a New Failed Vaccine
The BBC has this article whose headline reads "HIV vaccine 'reduces infection'". Fifty-one people out of 8,197 people vaccinated contracted HIV, while 74 people out of 8,198 people who were not vaccinated and used as controls contracted HIV. The difference is not statistically significant. In biology, two = one for most biological results because biological systems are so complex, and there were a lot more variables than could be controlled for in this vaccine trial. Look at it this way, 0.622 per cent contracted HIV from the treated group versus 0.902 in the untreated group. Both results can be rounded up to 1 per cent. I'd like to see a similar vaccine trial on gays or IV drug users. Those are high risk groups for HIV infection and if the vaccine offered any protection, the data would likely show it. My guess is that the combinatorial vaccine would fail that test.
Labels: another failed HIV vaccine
