For the first time in 26 years, there has been success in an AIDS vaccine.
Results from a team of researchers, which included Thai researchers, the U.S. Army and the National Institute of Health, were released in Bangkok, Thailand.
According to researchers, the revamped vaccine cut the risk of becoming infected with HIV by more than 31 percent in the world’s largest AIDS vaccine trial of more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand. The 31 percent is much more promising than the zero percent in the past.
The World Health Organization statistics show at least 33 million people worldwide are infected with human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS, and 25 million have died. An estimated 7,500 are infected each day.
The commendable efforts of the volunteers in Thailand for receiving the vaccine are greatly appreciated. The persistence and hard work of the researchers and scientists who conduct the studies will pay off when the disease is brought to a halt by a successful vaccine in the future.
Although the vaccine is not yet licensed, this study is a tremendous breakthrough in the attempt to end this epidemic. After decades of failed research, billons of dollars donated to finding a cure and campaigns raising awareness on safe sex, there is finally a light glaring that may signify the end of the tunnel.