Spotlight on HVTN 702: AVAC’s Latest Podcast Episode

March 10, 2020

Dear Advocates,

The latest installment of AVAC’s podcast, Px Pulse, is up. In this episode, AVAC puts a spotlight on HVTN 702, or Uhambo, one of the most anticipated HIV vaccine efficacy trials in the field. Data show the vaccine tested is safe, but vaccinations were stopped early after a scheduled review showed it did not offer protection.

The news delivered disappointment to local communities, to the thousands of South Africans who participated in the study, and to the field worldwide. Meanwhile, the trial team will continue to follow participants over the next year to monitor safety and gather data to help answer urgent questions raised by the trial results. While the vaccine in the trial did not work, the trial was extremely well-conducted and got an answer quickly.

In this episode of Px Pulse:

HVTN 702 Protocol Co-chair and AVAC Board Member, Linda-Gail Bekker, explores what the trial team hopes to learn during the follow-up period and how these answers might impact the ongoing pursuit for an HIV vaccine;
AVAC’s Regional Stakeholder Engagement Advisor, Nandisile Luthuli, also joins the conversation to shed light on the trial team’s plans for continuing community engagement;
and AVAC’s Director of Research Engagement, Stacey Hannah, talks about the successes of the trial.

For more resources on the issue go to AVAC.org’s HVTN 702 Updates and Next Steps.

For the full podcast episode, highlights and more resources, visit avac.org/px-pulse. And subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!

Best,
AVAC