HEALTH
HEALTH
By amplifying the vaccine , researchers are now hoping for 50 % to 60 % efficacy in the South African trial .
Fauci says that even a moderately effective vaccine would be a “ major advance .”
The vaccine study aims to enroll 5,400 men and women , the largest ever in South Africa . Tshongoyi approaches two young women who need very little convincing before exchanging details .
“ The problem is , they can ’ t negotiate when it comes to sex ,” she said . “ They want to protect themselves , but with a condom , they can ’ t . If their boyfriend doesn ’ t want to use one , that is it .”
Azola Dayeni wants to become a nurse . She hopes the PrEP study will keep her safe .
Sive Zandi , with Linda-Gail Bekker , says an HIV vaccine would be “ wonderful . We could live life easy .”
‘ The last chapters of HIV ’
Bekker ’ s Emavundleni Research Centre was built for this moment ; it sits in the heart of a township that has felt the full brunt of the epidemic .
For years , the facility has carried out trial after trial , though never one like HVTN 702 .
“ We have written half the book ,” Bekker said . “ This is not the time to put the book down and walk away . We can collectively write the last chapters of HIV .”
But the South African government recently redirected a portion of its research budget , and there are fears that outside funding from the United States and other donors could also dry up .
If HVTN 702 doesn ’ t succeed , researchers know , the next trial would be years away .
It ’ s early afternoon , and the center is still full of mainly young women , desperate to gain control .
Inside one of the examination rooms , Azola Dayeni reads about the pre-exposure prophylaxis ( or PrEP ) study she has enrolled in .
“ I have a partner , but I don ’ t trust him ,” she explained . She hopes the PrEP will keep her safe -- but , she said , “ a vaccine is the ultimate protection .” An HIV-free generation ? No matter how good treatment becomes , the impact of HIV on
Titila Mputa ’ s family is permanent . “ I just went out to school , and when I left , ( my mother ) was fine ,” Mputa recalled . “ When I came back , she was not there , and they told me that she was in hospital , that she had a stroke .”
Four successive strokes , complications of the virus , crippled her mother . The treatment saved her mother ’ s life , but Mputa doesn ’ t want any other families to suffer like they did .
26 LIFE TODAY MAGAZINE Issue 1 , No . 001 / 17 / December 2016