Read the New York Times articleSolutionThe positive results

Read the New York Times article

Solution

The positive results of the Thai HIV vaccine study announced today are surprising to many, since it was widely predicted that the study would fail to show a protective effect.

About the study
The vaccine regimen was designed to stimulate both the cellular and the antibody-producing arms of the immune system (for further informationa about vaccines and how they work, see our guide to HIV vaccines).

First, participants would receive ALVAC, a vaccine that used a canarypox vector to deliver selected recombinant HIV sequences in order to stimulate the cellular arm of the immune system to produce HIV-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CD8+ cells).

Participants received four doses of ALVAC over six months, and vaccinations at months 3 and 6 with AIDSVAX B/E, a vaccine designed to produce an antibody response against the gp120 protein on HIV