HIV/AIDS VACCINE AWARENESS Vaccine 101 Jeremiah Brewer Health and Training Educator African – Americans Reach and Teach Health Ministry

African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry The Goal of this presentation is to teach you how to... Share the 6 Key Messages about HIV Vaccine Trials Create Awareness about HIV Vaccine Trials Share Resources about HIV Vaccine Trials Share the great Hope and the need for a vaccine effective against HIV

African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry Definitions HIV – Human Immunodeficiency Virus The virus that causes AIDS. Destroys the body’s immune system – after a while the body can’t fight infections. AIDS – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome The late stage of HIV disease

HIV has no boundaries African Americans and Latinos/Latinas –Especially women, youth and men who have sex with men (gay and non-gay identified) Men who have sex with men –Especially those under 25 years old of all races Injection Drug Users (IDU’s) and female partners of IDU’s –Especially those under 25 years old of all races African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

Approaches to prevention Drug abuse treatment (e.g. methadone) Condoms, clean syringes Topical microbicides Treatment of other sexually transmitted diseases Education and behavior modification What’s missing? African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

What’s Missing? Preventive HIV Vaccines African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

Key Message # 1 The best long term hope for controlling the AIDS pandemic is the development of safe, effective and affordable preventive HIV vaccines. African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

What is a Vaccine? Vaccine \vak-’sen\ Substance that teaches the body’s immune sytem to recognize and protect against a disease caused by an infectious agent or virus African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

How does a Vaccine work? This is Denzel Washington African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry You need something that looks like the real thing! This is not Denzel Washington By teaching the body to recognize and fight invaders through mimicking a natural infection.

African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry Key Message # 2 Currently, there is no HIV vaccine

African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry Vaccine Research in perspective How long does it take to develop a vaccine?

African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry Vaccine Research in perspective Vaccinediscovery of cause vaccine developed years elapsed Pertussis Polio Measles Hepatitis A Hepatitis B HIV1983???? As of 2006, 23 years and counting!

Key Message # 4 HIV vaccine research is part of a comprehensive approach to control the AIDS pandemic that includes, prevention, care and treatment strategies African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

Potential benefit of vaccine African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry Individual Benefit An individual gains a certain level of protection from a pathogen (a disease causing agent) Public Health Benefit Herd immunity: A community gains a certain level of protection from a pathogen if enough individuals within the community are vaccinated

Key Message # 3 Individuals who volunteer for an HIV preventive vaccine trial must be HIV negative. African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

Who participates in a trial? Healthy, HIV negative adults between 18 and 50 who can understand the potential risks and benefits of participation. Racial and ethnic minorities are under represented in clinical trials in the United States African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

Key Message # 5 HIV vaccines being tested in humans do not contain HIV; therefore the vaccines cannot cause HIV infection African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

Research Safety African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry Ethical considerations in HIV preventive vaccine research Community Advisory Boards Participants Bill of Rights and Responsibilities (adopted by HVTN in 2001) Institutional Review Boards Data Safety and Monitoring Boards Office of Human Research Protection U.S. Food & Safety Administration (FDA)

How does the study work? Some people get a shot of the study vaccine. Others get a fake (placebo) that looks like the vaccine to the volunteer and to the staff If it works, the immune system of the volunteers that received the vaccine believes it has been infected by the virus and produces a protective response. We fool the body ! African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

Is the vaccine safe? All HIV vaccines being tested in humans are synthetic replicas of virus pieces from different HIV strains that do not contain any live or attenuated (weak) virus and therefore are incapable of producing disease. African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

Is the vaccine safe? “it’s a lot like chicken nuggets…there is no real chicken in the nugget. It just looks like chicken.” Jen Satche San Francisco Dept. of Public Health The vaccine just looks like the virus to the volunteers immune system. African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

Is the vaccine safe? Vaccines being used in human trials cannot cause HIV infection or AIDS. “Informed consent”, which explains the risks and everything involved with trial participation, is required from all volunteers/participants Over 25,000 people have participated in HIV vaccine trials and there have been no significant safety concerns that could not be resolved quickly African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

Possible Vaccine outcomes Scientist believe that an effective preventive vaccine, given before exposure to HIV, could have a number of possible outcomes, including: –Preventing infection in all people –Preventing infection in most people –Preventing disease –Delaying disease including the development of AIDS African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

Key Message # 6 There is something that everyone can do to help HIV vaccine research succeed African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

You can help Educate yourself and others about the need for an HIV vaccine Let others know you support HIVvaccine research Support vaccine trial volunteers and/or volunteer yourself Dispel myths Reach out to communities most affected by HIV to build understanding and support Help promote vaccine research as a key part of vaccine Volunteer yourself African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry

Resources HIV Vaccine Trials Network at Contact AARTH Ministry at if you wish to receive on site training or have questions about participating in HIV vaccine research and clinical trials African-American Reach and Teach Health Ministry