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14th International AIDS ConferenceBarcelona, Spain — July 7-12, 2002 |
Int Conf AIDS. 2002 Jul 7-12;14:Abstract No. WeOrD1297
BACKGROUND: Once an HIV preventive vaccine is discovered it should be used without delay. Thus, it is important to identify policy issues which might guide the introduction and use, and to estimate needs and delivery capacity for future vaccines.
METHODS: Information was obtained from regional workshops (Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, Africa and Europe and North America) organized by WHO-UNAIDS and IAVI. Participants brainstormed the potential use of hypothetical vaccines with low or high efficacy. Potential target populations were estimated based on country-specific epidemiological and demographic data. Policy issues and likely concerns were identified, and needs and current delivery capability were estimated, based on accessibility and acceptability by the target population.
RESULTS: The initial estimates revealed that if an HIV vaccine of low efficacy is initially targeted to populations at higher risk of HIV infection, the global need would be 260 million full immunisation courses in the first five years. With a high efficacy vaccine, the global needs would be 690 million courses. The estimated current delivery capacity for an hypothetical HIV vaccine, using existing health services and delivery systems, was very low, representing only 19% of the estimated needs for a low efficacy vaccine, and 36% for a high efficacy vaccine.
CONCLUSIONS: Even a vaccine with low efficacy could be a valuable prevention tool, especially if targeted to populations at higher risk of HIV infection. High efficacy vaccines could be used in larger segments of the population. A public health challenge will be to bridge the gap between needs and existing delivery capacity. A concern is that the use of low efficacy vaccines could lead to an increase in HIV incidence due to "behavioural enhancement". Vaccines should not be considered as a panacea against HIV/AIDS, but as additional components of comprehensive prevention packages.
Presenting author: M - L Chang
1WHO-UNAIDS HIV Vaccine Initiative, HVI / HTP, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland.
2Access Project, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Geneva, Switzerland.
3UNAIDS, Geneva, Switzerland.
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WeOrD1297
Copyright © 2002 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.
