Forging A Shield Against AIDS

Vaccines are in the works, but how should they be tested and who should pay?

What might have been a methodical, scientific quest has turned into a wild crapshoot. In more than 60 laboratories around the world, researchers are working with at least 40 different concoctions in pursuit of one of medicine's most urgent goals: the development of an AIDS vaccine. Any team that succeeds will reap fame, fortune and the satisfaction of possibly wiping out a disease that ranks among the deadliest scourges ever to afflict humanity.

But first it will be necessary to bring some order to the bewildering array of options. While there are still some doubts that an ideal vaccine can actually...

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