The National Institutes of Health has halted a major clinical trial for an HIV vaccine after an independent panel determined that the injections provided no protection against the virus, according to a statement released today (February 3).
The study, called HVTN 702 and also known as Uhambo, was conducted by the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) and included 5,407 volunteers from across South Africa, where roughly 20 percent of adults between the ages of 15 and 49 are living with HIV. The review found 129 HIV infections among those who received the vaccine, and 123 infections among those who received the placebo.
“There’s absolutely no evidence of efficacy,” says Glenda Gray, the president and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council, in remarks to Science. “Years of work went into this. It’s a huge disappointment.”
Approximately 37.9 million people worldwide have HIV/AIDS as of 2018, when an estimated 1.7 ...
