"The most important contribution of the study is most likely the opportunity to investigate possible host-response correlates of protection against infection. The establishment of such correlates is the central question in HIV vaccine development and will have a profound effect on the designs of vaccines andclinical trials to assess their efficacy.
Given the lack of detection of conventional immune responses in earlier studies of these vaccine components, as well as the divergence between the vaccine's effect on the infection and the effect on viral load, the correlates of protection may, indeed, reflect new concepts of host response. This should be the focus of intense research using the most current research techniques. Ultimately, it is the results of such studies that will most likely determine the significance of this clinical trial to the field of HIV vaccine development."
