As an volunteer for one of Vanderbilt University's HIV vaccine studies, imagine my disappointment after reading that a major vaccine trial that was halted world-wide because the vaccine did not protect users from infection. Disappointment turned to worry as news over the next few days reported that the experimental vaccine may actually raise the risk of infection in volunteers.
I'm sure no one volunteers as a guinea pig for experimental vaccines like this one without a gut-check beforehand. I certainly took one. Unlike medications that treat the medical conditions of test participants, a vaccine must be tested on subjects who are free of the disease. The first question has to be, "is there a risk of infection?" Participants were assured that there was no risk of infection because no live virus was used in the vaccine, but realizing that any "experimental" thing is sure to come with very few guarantees, the next question is "are you willing to accept even a limited risk of exposure?" That was a tough question.
Did you ever ask yourself, "Where did all the gay people in San Francisco & New York come from?" Sure, there are plenty of cities with thriving gay communities now, but in the 1980's there were fewer. Gay people moved from their narrow-minded home towns, sometimes by choice and sometimes with no other choice, to places where they found a community. Some had been disowned by their families, but moved away to find new families in communities that simply allowed them to exist. When AIDS ravaged those communities in the 1980's, some people lost everyone they knew. The rest of us were luckier; we just lost too many. As one of the truly lucky, those who were spared the disease, I felt a sense of responsibility to my community and wanted to do the study, accepting the very small chance of problems.
As much as I hate to admit it, I was a little concerned about the study being conducted by Vanderbilt. Vandy is a great university, with a fine hospital, but you may remember the study conducted in 1969 in which pregnant women were given radioactive isotopes, without their knowledge or consent, to study the long-term effects of radiation of the women and their children. Sure, a little paranoid perhaps, but after 7 years of GWB, could I say with certainty that the NIH might not develop some concoction that would cause gay men to lose our good taste...or worse?
In spite of a lack of trust in the National Institute of Practically Anything right now, the researchers at Vanderbilt were amazing, dedicated women & men, and after meeting with them and lots of independent research I was convinced that the vaccine, which used only synthetic pieces of HIV DNA, would be safe. Of course, no one knew if I was getting real vaccine or a placebo, and wouldn't know for over a year. A few days after the news of the failed study broke, I got a call from the research clinic.
My study was not the failed Merck/NIH study. The vaccine I'd received was one of the many other experimental vaccines going through varying stages of study at the moment, and unlike the failed vaccine, this one appears to have been a success. I had received the actual vaccine instead of a placebo, and my body did create antibodies to the HIV virus without having been infected by it. This certainly isn't the first vaccine to create antibodies in test subjects, but it is one of the latest attempts and so far it seems to be working.
This is just anecdotal, of course, with only my individual results to measure, but the point is that another disappointment does not mean that HIV vaccine research has failed. It's still happening, and still promising. It still needs people. My experience was overwhelmingly positive. I was inspired by the people devoting their lives to this research, and more than a little proud to have done my part. I hope more people will consider volunteering. It's a big decision, but what worthwhile decision isn't?
HIV Vaccine Trials Network