By Michael

My name is Michael, and I'm a 22-year-old graduate student in Washington, DC. I grew up in suburban Columbus, Ohio, where people really didn't discuss HIV or AIDS. My friends and I felt that there wasn't a reason to because HIV only affected particular groups of people in big cities.

I first became aware of the effort to find an HIV vaccine when I saw an advertisement in a metro station announcing a vaccine trial study. The ad depicted a diverse group of ordinary people explaining why they volunteered to participate in the trial. Some volunteered for family members, others for partners or friends. After seeing the advertisements, I was glad to hear that HIV vaccines are being developed, but I didn't think much about the trial.

A few days later I heard that someone I knew in high school had been diagnosed with HIV. He/she wasn't someone I knew terribly well, but it was the first time I could put a face on the disease. Within the same week, I was talking with a friend whom I had known since my first day of college, and he told me that he was HIV-positive. I realized that after five years of living in Washington, DC, the city with the nation's highest incidence of AIDS, the only reason I didn't have HIV was luck. I wanted to do something to help combat HIV but wasn't sure how I could help. Shortly thereafter I was in the metro and I again saw the HIV vaccine trial advertisement. This time I called.

I learned that the trial, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health's Vaccine Research Center, is a Phase I drug study that seeks to test the safety and efficacy of an HIV vaccine candidate. I met with one of the trial's coordinators who explained, as part of the informed consent process, exactly how the vaccine works, what I could expect to happen while involved in the study, and the potential risks of the vaccine. I learned that, because the study is administered in a "double-blind" format, it is possible that I am not actually receiving the HIV vaccine but a placebo. Most importantly, I learned that is was not possible to contract HIV from participating in the study. After discussing my medical history and submitting to a physical examination, I chose to participate in the study.

As a trial participant, I received one dose of the vaccine product per month for three months. The vaccine was administered without a needle injection in my upper arm. During this initial part of the study, I visited the NIH Clinical Center every other week for a check-up with the study's nurse practitioner. Now, I visit once every three months. These check-ups ensure that the vaccine is not adversely affecting my health and give the study coordinators a chance to assess my reaction to the vaccine product. During my check-ups, the nurse practitioner and I also discuss what behaviors lead to increased risk of contracting HIV, and what I can do to decrease my chances of contracting the virus. Next month, I will go in for my last check-up and, I will be finished with the study.

It's hard to believe that, one year ago, I didn't think HIV could affect me. Now, I realize that the threat is real and that I can make a difference by participating in this effort to stop the pandemic. The trial process has made me more aware of the challenges that face researches as they race to find a preventive vaccine for the disease, not the least of which is recruiting people of all ages, races, and backgrounds to volunteer for vaccine trials. If you think you don't have anything to contribute to HIV awareness, or think you can't make a difference, please consider participating in an HIV vaccine trial.