Immune Responses to Pneumococcal Vaccination Among HIV-infected Subjects

Immune Responses to Pneumococcal Vaccination Among HIV-Infected Subjects

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the best timing for administering pneumococcal vaccine (PV) to HIV-infected adults that have CD4 cell counts of more than 200 and are not yet receiving combination antiretroviral treatment (ART). Participants in this study will be assigned by chance to receive vaccination with PV prior to starting ART or after at least 6 months of ART. Antibody levels to components of the PV will be measured at 6 months and 12 months after vaccination. The results will tell us if patients that receive PV after 6 months of ART have better response to the vaccine than those that get vaccinated prior to treatment.

Inclusion Criteria:

• HIV infected
• CD4 count >200
• no acute illness
• no pneumococcal vaccination within 3 years
• naive to treatment or if previously on treatment, no antiretroviral treatment for at least 6 months
• willingness to start antiretroviral treatment as recommended by current guidelines

Exclusion Criteria:

• prior pneumococcal vaccination within 3 years
• prior AIDS diagnosis based on opportunistic disease
• acute illness