Brisbane, Calif.
The first AIDS vaccine ever tested on a large group doesn’t work, at least not for everybody, the drug’s producer, VaxGen, reported this week. But the vaccine, Aidsvax, showed unexpected promise for African-Americans and Asians. Although whites injected with Aidsvax later became infected with HIV at the same rate as everyone else, the rate of infection for minority participants was lowered by 67 percent. Researchers said the racial disparity might be a statistical glitch, or it might indicate that different racial groups have different antibody responses to the vaccine. They called for a larger study to see if the vaccine really protects minorities. Dr. José Esparza of the United Nations AIDS agency said any hint of success was a breakthrough, making the new study “one of the most significant findings in HIV vaccine research in many years.”
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