H.R. Shepherd

H.R. Shepherd is chairman of the Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Foundation, a private organization that promotes advances in vaccines and immunization. The following viewpoint is taken from an article written in response to a column by Charles Krauthammer, who had criticized President Bill Clinton’s May 1997 call for a national campaign to find an AIDS vaccine within ten years. Shepherd argues that Clinton was correct in urging such an effort. He asserts that an AIDS vaccine is the only long-term solution for ending the worldwide AIDS epidemic, especially in developing countries. Discovering such a vaccine, he contends, must remain a high moral and economic priority of the United States and the world. As you read, consider the following questions:

1. How many people contract HIV every year...