Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 20:54:49 -0500
From: LGNY@nycnet.com (New York's Lesbian & Gay Newspaper)
Subject: How We Can End AIDS



By Troy Masters


A vaccine to prevent HIV could end the AIDS crisis. Period. So why aren't
we rushing to get involved in the clinical trials to find one?  I did
because I'm sick of the entire focus of the AIDS crisis being that of
triage, focusing science only on treatments, politics on bigger budgets,
more hospital beds and cultural arguments that are ripping the community
apart over what kind of sex we should be having.  We all know how to end
this disease, but a vaccine is the only way we will muster the willpower.

New York City has had more deaths from AIDS-related illnesses -- over
70,000 -- than any other city in the nation. Denver, on the other hand, has
had fewer AIDS deaths than the state of Iowa. You'd think that would make
New York's massive gay and HIV community jump on the vaccine bandwagon, but
so far it just hasn't happened.
Consider:  Denver has exceeded by 30 percent its necessary enrollment for
the current AIDSVAX trials, having had 239 visits since August from
interested parties, of whom 161 have been inoculated. Granted, the site at
which the study is being conducted, The Judson Clinic, has been underway in
Denver for a bit longer than New York's three sites.  Denver has had almost
no public relations effort and has mostly garnered the attention of the
community out of an appeal to the desperate hope people have to end AIDS.
That's Denver, population less than one million.
Consider:  Kansas City, which has had fewer AIDS deaths than the lower east
side of Manhattan, has had its site up and soliciting volunteers one month
longer than New York and has already inoculated 56 people of the 70 it has
screened.
Consider:  Buffalo has been open only since January and has already
inoculated 19 people of the 33 it has screened.
Consider:  New York City has three sites and aims to enroll 450 minimum
participants in its study. Since the trial began in New York, 83 people
have been screened and only 28 have been inoculated. Many of those who have
not yet been inoculated are considering whether to do so. But, first they
must make up their minds. True -- the trial only began here in December, so
it's not yet time to sound the gong of failure.
Why does this matter? Well, I have my eye on this because this trial is of
monumental importance. Monumental. Number one, the trial will be seen as a
test of our community's resolve to end this crisis:  we must volunteer in
numbers that produce confirmational data as to the vaccines effectiveness.
If we fail to come through on this test, there is a strong possibility that
other companies interested in investing their financial resources into an
AIDS vaccine will hesitate, and perhaps retreat. This trial will be the one
they will all look at to see how we respond. The course this hunt for an
effective vaccine will take depends almost entirely on our response to the
current phase III trials being conducted by VaxGen and one coming up in the
spring by a second company.
A source within one vaccine company, who asked to remain anonymous, says
that executives are very skittish about the 40 to 50 million dollars they
would risk having to go through unsupported phase III trials. He says it
would be cheaper to shelve the research altogether.  Not good news.
The other thing to consider is just how few trials are really in the
pipeline. Precious few. So, the race is on and we better get involved.
On May 18, 1998 President Clinton promised the nation that the government
is committed to finding a vaccine to conquer AIDS within ten years.  Walter
Reade Hospital, the Army funded hospital most typically charged with
finding various vaccine and arguably the world's most success such
facility, has cut its HIV vaccine budget by 40 percent.
Remember the mantra, Silence Equals Death? Silence now means not getting
involved in vaccine trials, being afraid of science, not caring whether
vaccine trials get properly enrolled. Silence means accepting the notion
that AIDS is better served by finding better drugs than by finding a
vaccine. Silence means calling people who get involved in these trials
"guinea pigs." Silence is not motivating your friends to get involved and
encouraging them to hold out for a better candidate for a vaccine or a
cure. Progress is not the only thing that faces death from such silence.

LGNY is the gay-owned and operated newspaper for lesbian and gay New York.
LGNY aims to serve New York's large and diverse community with a critical
discussion of news, political events, health, the arts, entertainment, and
emerging cultural trends. We do so in ways we hope are insightful,
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status quo can always do with a little shaking up.