Buffalo AIDS Clinical Trial to Mark National AIDS Vaccine Day With Thanks, Mayoral Proclamation

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Buffalo AIDS vaccine clinical trial will mark the 2nd Annual AIDS Vaccine Day on May 18 with a proclamation by Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello and certificates of appreciation to the 45 volunteers who have entered the trial so far.

May 18 will be the second anniversary of President Clinton's challenge to the world's scientists to develop a safe and effective vaccine to combat the disease.

The Buffalo clinical trial is being conducted by the University at Buffalo's Division of HIV Medicine, headed by Ross Hewitt, M.D., who is also medical director of Immunodeficiency Services at Erie County Medical Center. The local trial is one of 50 centers across the U.S. testing the effectiveness of a drug called AIDSVAX B/B on volunteers who are currently HIV-negative, but who are at high risk of acquiring the virus through sexual transmission.

The national study will involve 5,000 men and women. Recruitment in Buffalo began this January and has reached the half-way point.

Hewitt said most of the people who have volunteered so far have said they joined the study because they had lost friends or family members to AIDS and wanted to give something back to the community by becoming part of the solution.

Gregory Rabb, an attorney and professor at Jamestown Community College and one of the volunteers who has been vaccinated, said of the experience: "I felt fine. I didn't have any side effects -- no temperature, nothing...We've been fighting this disease too long, and I'm tired of losing friends and seeing my students becoming infected with HIV. I volunteered because I want to help end this epidemic."

Volunteers are still needed. Persons interested in being part of the study should call 716-898-5680 for further information.