A Taiwanese doctoral student in France has volunteered to participate in a trial of a possible AIDS vaccine called VAC-18, organized by the French Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le Sida (National Agency for AIDS, ANRS).
Of the more than 100 participants in the trial, the 31-year-old Taiwanese, who wanted to be known as "Pierre," was the only Asian.
It's difficult to find participants for such trials, especially with AIDS research.
PHOTO: WANG CHANG-MIN, TAIPEI TIMES
The agency could not offer any incentives, as this might lead to ethical conflicts and participants lying about their sexual history.
Pierre said he saw a call for volunteers on television three years ago.
He said he decided to volunteer because he realized the seriousness of the AIDS pandemic, especially in China where entire villages have been infected with AIDS because of unsafe blood donation methods.
Pierre said he hopes his participation will help advance AIDS research and help AIDS patients in Asia as well.
The participants were screened very strictly, both before and during the trial.
Over the course of one year, they were injected with the vaccine four times.
Pierre finished the trial last year, and is still healthy.
Some participants worried that the vaccine might cause them to get infected with AIDS, but researchers explained that the vaccine used in this trial cannot infect humans, and that no live AIDS virus is used.
Because of the vaccine, Pierre might show up as a false positive if he would test for AIDS in the future. For this reason, he has to carry a card with him explaining he had participated in the vaccine trial.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS