1. False. Currently a preventive HIV vaccine does not exist. Ongoing research is being conducted to find a safe and effective vaccine.

2. False. Everyone should be concerned about an HIV vaccine. HIV has no boundaries. The highest rates of new infection in the U.S. are in African Americans, Latinos/as, men who have sex with men, injection drug users (IDUs) and sexual partners of IDUs.

3. False. Vaccines being used in human trials cannot cause HIV infection or AIDS.

4. False. In order to participate in an HIV vaccine clinical trial you cannot be HIV+. Preventive HIV vaccines for HIV- negative populations are being developed to control the spread of HIV and are not a cure for AIDS.

5. True. All clinical trial participants are told of the known side effects that may occur through a process known as Informed Consent. Informed Consent explains the possible risks and benefits of participation, the process of trial participation and everything else involved with trial participation. It is required of all volunteers. In addition, Informed Consent makes it clear that participating in a trial is completely voluntary and that a trial participant can withdraw consent and stop their participation at any time.

6. True. All preventive vaccines go through a rigorous testing process including a pre-clinical phase involving animals and then three different phases involving humans before the Food and Drug Administration can approve it.

7. True. Scientists believe that an effective preventive HIV vaccine, given before exposure to HIV, could have a number of possible outcomes, including:
Preventing infection in most people;
Preventing infection in some people;
Preparing a person's immunes system to block continued infection and eliminate the virus (vaccines against measles, mumps and polio work this way);
Delaying or preventing the onset of illness or AIDS.

8. True. Researchers are also evaluating therapeutic vaccines designed to treat HIV+ individuals or people living with AIDS.

9. False. All trial participants receive extensive counseling regarding safer behaviors and ways to reduce their risk of infection throughout the trial. Participants can only be exposed to HIV through their own behavior, and never through the vaccine or through the trial.

10. False. While racial and ethnic minorities comprise a majority of new cases of HIV infection in the United States, they are underrepresented in preventive HIV vaccine trials.