First Phase of HIV Vaccine Trials Successful

I want to find a cure for HIV as much as the next guy, but only in the Great Communist State of China could you pay ‘volunteers’ $250 USD to test the latest HIV vaccine.

The first phase of clinical trials indicates China’s first AIDS vaccine is safe and possibly effective, government officials announced at the press conference after a two-month-odd assessment.
“Forty-nine healthy people who received the injection showed no severe adverse reactions after 180 days, proving the vaccine was safe,” said Zhang Wei, head of the pharmaceutical registration department of the SFDA.
“The recipients appeared immune to the HIV-1 virus 15 days after the injection, indicating the vaccine worked well in stimulating the body’s immunity,” he told the press conference.
The volunteers were paid 2,000 yuan (250 U.S. dollars) for their participation, which was set by the Chinese Medicine and Ethnics Society.
They signed an agreement with the Guangxi CDC for getting the injection, which is responsible for future possible adverse reactions from the vaccine, said one of the volunteers Peng Zhi.
“We were told the vaccine contains no live HIV virus and we wouldn’t be infected by getting the injection, and only partial inflammation or pain might occur due to individual differences,” said Peng, a student from the Guangxi Medical University.
Half of the volunteers are from the university. Others include government employees.

I’m guessing the Human Subjects Review Committee over in China has a different definition of volunteer.
Read more here. . . .
(hat tip: /.)