Americans Should Learn More About HIV Vaccine Research, Participate in Studies, Opinion Piece Says
Although scientists and researchers have made "much progress" toward "developing a safe and effective preventive HIV vaccine," there is "still no vaccine," Don Bruner and Roberto Burgos of the Community Advisory Board of the HIV Vaccine Trials Unit at the University of Rochester Medical Center, write in a Rochester Democrat & Chronicle opinion piece to mark HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, which is May 18. As a result, everyone in the United States, "especially at-risk populations such as communities of color and those sexually active, need to learn more about HIV vaccine research and be part of making an HIV vaccine a reality," according to Bruner, who is executive director of the board, and Burgos, who is president. Organizers of the vaccine awareness day are asking people to mark the occasion by wearing a red AIDS ribbon upside-down to form a "V" for vaccines and to "symboliz[e] a vision of a world without AIDS," they write. Bruner and Burgos also say that people in the United States should volunteer to participate in trials of experimental AIDS vaccines, adding, "The courage of volunteers is hopeful, the commitment of researchers is promising and the education of communities across the country is ongoing." Americans should "[t]ake the time today and every day to learn more about HIV vaccine research and be part of making an HIV vaccine a reality," they conclude (Bruner/Burgos, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, 5/18).
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