Safe sex, not using needles, and being Magic Johnson are three ways to keep the virus that causes AIDS in check, though awareness of those factors has yet to alleviate the epidemic. We’ve long held out hope that science could come to the rescue and eliminate our fears of the deadly retrovirus, and at last it is hinting at a willingness to extend a cooperative helping hand.
A new vaccine tested in Thailand has been shown to decrease the risk of contracting HIV by 31%. The world’s largest AIDS Vaccine trial, sponsored by the US Army and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, took a sample of 16,000 participants, administering half with dummy shots and the other half with the vaccine. The result proved to be a significant moment in showing that the fight to end the spread of AIDS is perhaps a winnable one.
We imagine it’ll be another few years before the vaccine goes into production if additional tests end up proving this to be the real deal. Meanwhile, we don’t recommend getting all handsy and beyond without protection, because the alternative is none too appealing.
