Important note: Information in this article was accurate in June 2003. The state of the art June have changed since the publication date. |
AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, June 23, 2003
Michael Greer, Senior Medical Writer
"Once an effective HIV vaccine is discovered, a major challenge will be to ensure its worldwide access," according to Jose Esparza and colleagues at the World Health Organization.
However, the demand for a vaccine is likely to far outpace distribution capacity, even if the vaccine is restricted to the highest-risk populations, Esparza and coauthors found.
The researchers assessed the estimated need for vaccines with high and low-to-moderate efficacy. Nearly 700 million full immunization courses of a highly effective vaccine would be needed to protect 22% of 15- to-49-year-olds worldwide, and 69% of those at the heart of the pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, study data showed.
A vaccine with lower efficacy would be restricted to individuals with the highest risk of infection, according to the report. The need for such a vaccine was estimated at 260 million courses, to immunize 8% and 41% of the worldwide and sub-Saharan African population between the ages of 15 and 49 years.
Using current delivery capacity as a guide, the "probable uptake," i.e., the amount likely to be distributed, was less than 40% of the estimated need for a high efficacy vaccine, and less than 20% of the need for a vaccine of low-to-moderate efficacy (Estimation of "needs" and "probable uptake" for HIV/AIDS preventive vaccines based on possible policies and likely acceptance (a WHO/UNAIDS/IAVI study). Vaccine. 2003 May 16;21(17-18):2041-50.
"Bridging the gap between the estimated needs and the probable uptake for HIV vaccines will represent a major public health challenge for the future," Esparza and colleagues concluded.
The corresponding author for this report is Jose Esparza, WHO-UNAIDS HIV Vaccine Initiative, Health Technology and Pharmaceuticals, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211, Geneva 27, Switzerland. E-mail: esparzaj@who.int.
Key points reported in this study include:
The demand for an effective HIV vaccine is likely to far outpace distribution efforts
Given current distribution capacity, the probable uptake - i.e., expected amount delivered - of a high-efficacy vaccine is less than 40% of estimated need
For a low-to-moderate efficacy vaccine, the probable uptake is less than 20% of estimated need
This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
Reference
Esparza J, Chang ML, Widdus R, et al., "Estimation of "needs" and "probable uptake" for HIV/AIDS preventive vaccines based on possible policies and likely acceptance (a WHO/UNAIDS/IAVI study)", Vaccine. 2003 May 16;21(17-18):2041-50.
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