NEWS
Many Distrust AIDS Vaccine Trials

Minorities, especially, say they wouldn't volunteer for these studies
By Randy Dotinga , HealthDay Reporter Nov 21, 2005

New research suggests many Americans remain deeply suspicious of research into
an AIDS vaccine and wouldn't want anyone they know to take part in a clinical
trial.
The findings reflect a general suspicion of the medical establishment,
especially among minorities, said Matthew Murguia, a director at the U.S.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' division of AIDS, and
co-author of a study in the Dec. 15 issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndromes .
"We have to try to make sure people understand how vaccines work and what the
safeguards are," he said.
While vaccines now protect against a variety of illnesses from chicken pox and
polio to smallpox, scientists say the AIDS virus has turned out to be a much
tougher customer. More than two decades into the AIDS epidemic, no experimental
vaccine has worked.
Still, researchers are continuing to develop vaccines, and about 30 clinical
trials are now underway in the United States, Murguia said. Most are in the
early stages of testing; Thailand is home to a late-stage trial.
In the new study, researchers randomly surveyed 3,509 Americans by phone about
the testing of HIV vaccines. The researchers worked from 2002 to2003.

 

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