World AIDS Day: The Beginning of the End

A look at where we are in the fight on World AIDS Day:

The Tipping Point (Yahoo)

"We've passed the tipping point in the AIDS fight at the global level, but not all countries are there yet, and the gains made can easily stall or unravel," said Erin Hohlfelder, ONE's director of global health policy.

"The number of people newly infected with HIV over the last year was lower than the number of HIV-positive people who joined those getting access to the medicines they need to take for life to keep AIDS at bay."

A Vaccine on the Way? (CNN)

A trial in Thailand that had 16,000 participants and used 2 previously studied vaccines aimed at stopping HIV infection may prove to be the answer, in much the same way as the cocktail of medications changed the HIV world in the late 1990s.

"Two previously developed vaccines, known as ALVAC-HIV and AIDSVAX, were used in combination, with the first priming an immune response against HIV and the second used as a booster once the immunity waned. The duo reduced the risk of contracting HIV by 31.2% -- a modest reduction, but it was a start."  

"When creating vaccines, the desired level of protection is usually 80% to 90%. But the high burden of HIV and potentially beneficial impact of lower levels of protection warrant licensing at a lower percentage... Over 50% is worth licensing from a public health perspective," Koff said, meaning that despite less shielding from any contact with the HIV virus, even a partially effective vaccine would save many lives over time."