In recent news it has come to light that the research data on the new AIDS vaccine that had been presented to the public in September may not be as promising as previously thought. When first presented researchers claimed that the vaccine was 31% effective. When they first announced these findings, they admitted their support was weak. However, recent analysis of the study shows that it is even weaker than originally thought. The announcement of a HIV vaccine was the biggest news since ARV cocktails, which changed HIV from a death sentence into a manageable disease. However, at only a rate of effectiveness of 26%, results are far from conclusive and actually not even significant from a statistical standpoint. Much of the controversy is over the differences in opinion about what data should be included: those who participated in the study or those who finished the entire regiment. Researchers are receiving much criticism for prematurely releasing such fragile findings, and many think they were trying to cover up the failure of the six year trial. However, those involved claim that they were only trying to simplify data for the public, and that if they are guilty of anything, it is only making the announcement too soon.
I do not think that they had any right to announce to the public that they had found an effective drug, when in reality they had not. This is a serious condition and many people are on edge waiting for a cure, if researchers continue to falsify information, those who are waiting for it will not know what to believe. If the information was still incorrect and the researchers published it anyways that just shows badly on them.
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