HIV News, Ctd

Elizabeth Pisani throws some cold water:

Yes, it is exciting that something has finally been shown to work, even a bit. And yes, it will encourage a new look at combination vaccines. So why do I say it is the worst possible type of good news? Because a vaccine that reduces the risk of infection by a third presents an agonising public health dilemma.

With most infectious diseases, reducing everyone’s risk by a third would make quite a difference across a whole population. But the problem with HIV is that it is both an infectious disease and a behavioural one. I can get it by sharing needles with other drug injectors, I can avoid it by using condoms every time I have sex. If I know I have been vaccinated, will that make me more likely to share needles, or less likely to use condoms? And if it does, will that change outweigh the 30 per cent reduction in risk that comes with the vaccine?