New hope in battle against HIV/Aids

A trial for a new vaccine against HIV (which causes Aids), is being launched in South Africa. Scientists believe it will be the first large study of an HIV vaccine’s effectiveness since 2009.

The new study, known as HVTN 702, will involve more than 5 400 sexually active men and women aged 18–35 in 15 areas around South Africa over four years.It will be similar to the Thai RV144 study in Thailand from 2003 to 2006, which had more than 16 000 participants.

Half the participants in HVTN 702 will receive the vaccine and the other half will receive a placebo. Neither the participants nor the study team will know who has received which type of injection until the end of the study.

The participants will get five injections over one year, and will then be followed-up for another two years to assess how the immune response is sustained over this period.

Once the trial is over, the data obtained will be analysed to ascertain whether the vaccine is safe and whether it prevented HIV infection among participants who received the vaccine, compared to those who received the placebo.

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