Many Americans think an HIV/AIDS vaccine already exists.

2003 JUN 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Many Americans wrongly believe that a preventive vaccine for HIV/AIDS has already been developed, according to surveys recently conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Nearly half of African Americans surveyed (48%) and more than a quarter of Hispanics (28%) believe that an HIV vaccine already exists and is being kept a secret. Twenty percent of adults in the general population share that belief.

The preliminary findings are from a national survey of 3500 people conducted by NIAID, a component of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The research included a 2000-person national survey of American adults and three smaller surveys of communities most affected by HIV and AIDS (i.e., African American, Hispanics, and men who have sex with men).

As a part of NIAID's efforts to educate the public about ongoing research, the Institute sponsored the Sixth Annual HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on May 18. Communities around the country and across the world have planned activities that will provide valuable HIV vaccine information to inform the public and begin to correct misinformation and misperceptions.

"HIV vaccine research is our best hope, along with other prevention and treatment efforts, to slow the spread of HIV," said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, MD "NIAID is committed ...