Abstract
HIV remains a major public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. About 54.5% of all people living with HIV live in Eastern and Southern Africa. There is no HIV vaccine or cure available yet despite ongoing research to develop one and uptake of vaccines is critical in the global society. It is imperative to describe the perceptions and experiences of the vaccines trial participants, as they may give lessons for COVID-19 vaccine development. A phenomenological qualitative study was conducted to describe the experiences of volunteers who participated in a phase I/II HIV vaccine trial in Tanzania. A purposive sample of 20 of the 60 trial participants was interviewed. Interviews were subjected to thematic-content analysis. The study showed that trial participation was driven by positive expectations related to health and the realization of the need for an effective vaccine to combat HIV. However, fear and concerns about the safety of the trial vaccine were the frequently reported challenges to participation. The significant others and community play an important role in trial participation. The success of a trial depends on direct and indirect participation in trials. Future vaccine trials must promote positive expectations for trial participation and address fears and concerns related to vaccine safety. Key words: HIV Vaccine trial, participant experiences, COVID-19 vaccine trial, trial benefits and challenges, Tanzania.
Highlights
IntroductionHIV pandemic and vaccine developmentSince the start of the HIV epidemic, 75.7 million people were infected by the disease globally and in 2019 alone 690 000 lives were lost to HIV (Communications and As people were living with HIV including 1.7 million who were infected in that year alone (UNAIDS, 2020)
Since the start of the HIV epidemic, 75.7 million people were infected by the disease globally and in 2019 alone 690 000 lives were lost to HIV (Communications and As people were living with HIV including 1.7 million who were infected in that year alone (UNAIDS, 2020)
Our study aimed to explore and describe the expectations or motivation for participating in the HIV vaccine trial, to understand the experiences and challenges encountered by respondents during participation in the HIV trial and discuss their relevance for COVID-19 vaccine development
Summary
HIV pandemic and vaccine developmentSince the start of the HIV epidemic, 75.7 million people were infected by the disease globally and in 2019 alone 690 000 lives were lost to HIV (Communications and As people were living with HIV including 1.7 million who were infected in that year alone (UNAIDS, 2020). In Tanzania, an estimated 1.6 million PLHIV are representing an adult prevalence rate of 4.6%; with 72,000 new infections and 24,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2018(UNAIDS, 2019) This suggests that a vaccine is needed to avoid further loss of lives since vaccines offer the most cost-effective mechanism to tackle infectious diseases (Pronker et al, 2013). While on average it takes 10.7 years to develop a vaccine it is decades before an HIV vaccine is found (Pronker et al, 2013). Various social determinants of the willingness to participate including lack of knowledge, hesitance, fear of side effects, perceived risks and benefits of participation were reported as key sociochallenges as key socio-challenges (Detoc et al, 2020; Doshi et al, 2017; Mbunda et al, 2014)
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