The Washington Post is reporting on a group of 12 volunteers has just started on the first human trial of an HIV vaccine. The trial is being conducted at four American universities.

The vaccine is administered in stages over the course of about 2 months. The recipient is exposed to fragments of HIV DNA, followed by a modified poxvirus which is meant to boost the immune system.

In this first stage trial, researchers will be checking to see if the vaccine is safe to be administered at low doses. If the trial is successful, it will move onto a larger trial, and eventually the researchers will test to see if the vaccine actually prevents AIDS from developing.

In animal trials involving rhesus macaques, the vaccine protected 22 of 23 animals.