Taking RV144 beyond Thailand

Abstract

HIV The RV144 vaccine trial in Thailand is based on the only HIV vaccine to show efficacy against HIV infection to date. Gray et al. designed the HIV Vaccine Trials Network 097 trial to test this regimen in South Africa, where clade C HIV circulates. Examining immune protective responses previously identified in the RV144 trial, the authors found the vaccine to be even more immunogenic in South Africans, and the magnitude of protective antibody responses was greater compared with RV144. The RV144 regimen or others like it may therefore be protective in areas where clade C HIV is endemic. Sci. Transl. Med. 11 , eaax1880 (2019).