A few years ago the hospital connected with my university was looking for test subjects for an experimental study of a HIV vaccine. I heard about it because two of my friends had already decided to become guinea pigs. I decided that it was right for me too. I was given two doses of a vaccine in the beginning stages. There weren't many side effects, but I do remember being really fatigued and nauseous after the first dose. After that it has just been regularly scheduled blood draws to see how the vaccine antibodies are working in my system. I have my last appointment in a couple months and I've been reflecting back on the situation.
At first, I felt like I was doing something really great for humanity because there was this hope that AIDS and HIV could be stopped through vaccinations. Trials had already been conducted on other animals and monkeys with some success, so researchers took things to the next level.
Later on, I felt indifferent about it because I realized I was helping a huge pharmaceutical company, Merck, find the HIV vaccine first so that they could make a load of money off of it. Then, I heard a renowned professor at our med school speak about the HIV vaccine and he explained that the vaccine trials were going no where. The antibodies in the vaccines are not providing people with sufficient immunity to be reliable. There are other independent researchers working on a HIV vaccine, but it doesn't look promising from what I've heard.
So now, I feel ok about it since I least I tried to do my part and I got a nice chunk of change for all the blood they took. It just leaves me wondering what more we can do to help find a cure for AIDS. I'm thinking the answer lies in awareness of risky behaviors and monetary donations, but what do you guys think?
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