AIDS Vaccine: Major Report Available
On May 18 the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition will release 9 Years and Counting, a 53-page agenda for action and report on the status of AIDS vaccine development.The title refers to a speech one year ago by President Clinton, in which he asked, "Today, let us commit ourselves to developing an AIDS vaccine within the next decade... I am prepared to do all I can to make it happen." But today, "the government's AIDS vaccine research program has continued at the same unhurried pace as before with only nominal achievements and developments, and corporate commitment is at an all-time low" (from AVAC press release accompanying the report).
Every day 16,000 people are infected with HIV, and experts agree that only a vaccine will be able to stop the epidemic. A previous AVAC report found that pharmaceutical and biotech representatives agreed that "sustained political leadership by the President, Vice President and the rest of the administration, and scientific leadership by the NIH" was needed. But "this has not yet happened." The new report includes a 19-point agenda for action, including the U.S. government, private industry, and international organizations.
Copies of the report will be available at http://www.thebody.com, or http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu. Or contact the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, P.O. Box 40190, San Francisco, CA 94140-0190, phone 415-643-3534, fax 415-821-9131, email avacscott@aol.com.
