On Medical News Today, an article (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/101663.php) came to my attention. Being the biology minded person I am, I went to read further. And to be completely honest, what I read has (in my slightly detectable southern accent) started me thinking.
As a cell biology major, I understand the value that goes into research. I understand that there is "limited public resources," but I also understand, and feel, the driving necessity of every researcher out there to get to the bottom of problem. Those problems that scientists, such as myself and countless others, attempt to answer range the gambit of health problems--HIV/AIDS being one of the major health issues near and dear to my heart. I want to research; I want to understand; I want to help. I want to help find whatever information is necessary to help the millions that suffer and can suffer from this epidemic. It breaks my heart when I see statements such as "We have to admit to ourselves that we don't know how to make an HIV vaccine right now", and "Suspending US funding for an HIV vaccine and investing in strategies that save lives and stop new infections is the wisest and most effective use of limited public resources," and "And with thousands of lives lost daily because people around the world lack access to proven, effective and relatively inexpensive prevention and treatment options, it is also the only moral choice." It outrages me; it makes me want to step up to the plate; it makes me want to encourage others to step up--I mean, really, look at the world we are in--people are dying because there isn't an answer to this problem. There isn't a cure. And to top that off, the leaders of medical research in the US have determined that it is best to suspend the funding for vaccines against HIV/AIDS.
What have we come to when the leaders have decided to take funding from AIDS vaccine research? Better yet, what do we do to make sure that valuable research still takes place in our country? I can answer that--we stand up; we become the driving force; we speak up; we tell our leaders that we want to see the continuation of funding for research for a vaccine to HIV/AIDS; we become those researchers, those leaders, the backbone to that funding; we become part of the answer.
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I'm an AIDS vaccine test subject and my heart breaks with the same news. I think more people should step up and being willing to give their money, their time and their bodies to AIDS vaccination research. There are independent research groups and some government representatives that will listen.
www.progressiveu.org/blog/americangirlinchina