Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Examines Area's HIV/AIDS Vaccine Efforts

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle on Thursday examined HIV/AIDS vaccine research being conducted in the area. More than 1,200 people in the Rochester area, most of whom are HIV-negative, have participated in vaccine trials at the University of Rochester Medical Center. According to the Democrat and Chronicle, the medical center runs one of the oldest vaccine research programs nationwide. Katharine Kripke of NIH, who was speaking in the area on Wednesday as part of a National HIV Vaccine Awareness Day forum, said that some people do not participate in trials because they believe they might contract HIV from experimental vaccines. She added that the experimental vaccines cannot transmit HIV.

The Democrat and Chronicle reports that researchers at the URMC vaccine program, which on Wednesday was renamed the Rochester Victory Alliance, are preparing to participate in a large-scale trial that will examine a government-developed experience vaccine among men who have sex with men. Other studies at URMC test immune responses among HIV-negative people. Michael Keefer, lead investigator for the program, said that the research has been incremental and that it might be several years before a vaccine is developed. "We're in this for the long haul," he said (Wang, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 5/7).