[LINK] "Many Wouldn’t Give the Shot a Shot, Says New U of T Research on HIV"

[rfmcdonald]

This news (via Torontoist's Wyndham Bettencourt-McCarthy), especially given the exceptionally emotionally charged nature of HIV/AIDS as opposed to, say, the whopping cough, as well as anti-vaccine sentiment.

[A] new research paper by University of Toronto professor Peter A. Newman and graduate student Carmen Logie says that even if a perfectly effective vaccine were created, over a quarter of Canadian and U.S. residents would choose not to use it.

Newman, who is currently an associate professor at U of T’s Faculty of Social Work and a Canada Research Chair, along with Social Work PhD candidate Logie, reviewed more than thirty quantitative and qualitative studies that surveyed individuals throughout North America. The paper, which was published this month in AIDS, the official journal of the International AIDS Society, analyzes the surveys of more than twelve thousand people, including those deemed at higher risk for HIV such as ethnic minorities, injection drug users, and men who have sex with men.

The potential effectiveness of a vaccine played a major role in the choice of many individuals, Newman says. "People are much more likely to take a vaccine if it’s highly effective, and are much less likely to if its [success] rate is 50%, even though on a population level that would knock the disease down significantly." If a 50%-effective vaccine existed, only 40% of people surveyed would choose to be vaccinated (compared to the 74% who would if it was totally effective).

While fears about the dangers of vaccines were a factor, "the bottom line is it’s totally impossible for anyone to get HIV with a vaccine [if developed]," Newman says. "There would not be live HIV in the vaccine." However, Newman and Logie’s analysis found that structural factors, such as availability and accessibility, also had a significant effect. "These practical obstacles are so important because there’s a lot [when dealing with vaccination] that’s out of our control, but these are things that are," he adds. Newman highlights the importance of making the vaccine as readily available as possible and integrating it into the health care system. For example, making it available at the regular doctor's office would de-stigmatize the vaccine by eliminating that unwanted walk into an AIDS clinic. According to Logie, other deterrents could include high cost, transportation, clinic locations, and hours of operation.

Newman saw parallels between people’s reactions in his study and the vaccination campaign during Ontario's H1N1 scare last winter. "It’s even hard to get the flu vaccine to all the people who need it—we saw that with H1N1, and that’s an extraordinarily low-risk vaccine," he says. Despite public health warnings and campaigns, the lack of quick access and availability of the vaccine led to a mere 32% of Ontarians getting the shot. And two weeks ago, reports emerged that those who did get the vaccine helped prevent an estimated fifty deaths and one hundred thousand visits to doctors’ offices.