AIDS killed a million people in 2016. HIV medications help only when taken diligently, which is actually problematic even in developed countries where the most advanced treatments are available, and is much more difficult in poorer countries. Even with treatment HIV infections are a burden on people, interfering with normal adult activities like sex (convincing people to use condoms is a challenge) and having children.
To quote Seven of Nine, survival is insufficient. We could survive without a vaccine or a treatment, it would mean tens of thousands of years and billions of people dying from AIDS until our species adapts and HIV becomes just another retrovirus (as some other primate species have with related SIV viruses). We should aim higher than "survival" and end the suffering caused by HIV, and with a vaccine we could do so in this century.
To quote Seven of Nine, survival is insufficient. We could survive without a vaccine or a treatment, it would mean tens of thousands of years and billions of people dying from AIDS until our species adapts and HIV becomes just another retrovirus (as some other primate species have with related SIV viruses). We should aim higher than "survival" and end the suffering caused by HIV, and with a vaccine we could do so in this century.