Thursday, May 18, marks HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (#HVAD) 2023. It’s an opportunity to recognize and give thanks to the countless volunteers, community members, health professionals and scientists who work together to find a safe and effective vaccine to prevent HIV. It’s also a designated day to educate communities about the importance of HIV vaccine research.

HVAD is led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is part of the National Institutes of Health.

An HIV vaccine remains elusive. Indeed, earlier this year, the Mosaico study—one of the last large trials to test for a traditional HIV vaccine—was discontinued after interim results showed that the vaccine under investigation didn’t reduce the risk for HIV acquisition. (For more details, see “Where Are We Now With HIV Vaccines?”)

Nevertheless, research continues, and HVAD offers a chance for those involved to renew their efforts.

In honor of this day, David Johns, PhD, the executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, issued a statement acknowledging the vast progress that has been made in HIV vaccine research and the importance of continuing to advocate for African Americas, who account for 43% of new HIV diagnoses in the country despite constituting only 12% of the population.

“We are getting closer to a breakthrough, as the first HIV/AIDS vaccine will soon head to clinical trials. When that happens, public health authorities must include Black people–in our beautiful diversity–in those trials,” Johns said in the statement. “Ensuring the meaningful participation of diverse representatives, especially from disproportionately impacted communities in clinical trials, is the only way to ensure that the vaccine works for all of us.”

The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC), which this year teamed with the Coalition to Accelerate & Support Prevention Research (CASPR), is offering two webinars (click on a title to register):

“What’s All the Buzz About: mRNA, manufacturing, vaccines access”

Thursday, June 1 at 10 a.m. ET /4 p.m. SAST
Description: Local production has emerged as an essential part of the solution for ensuring sustainable and equitable supplies of vaccines in low- and middle-income countries. This webinar will explore how local manufacturing and the new mRNA Hub in South Africa might facilitate access and support R&D.

Featuring: Caryn Fenner of Afrigen Biologics, Ike James of Medicines Patent Pool and Mike Frick of Treatment Action Group. 

 

“To bNAb or not to bNAb? The case for broadly neutralizing antibodies”

Wednesday, June 7 at 10 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. SAST
Description: Join AVAC and partners for a conversation to explore the potential role of bNAbs in prevention, our current status in the field and key issues to consider in HIV vaccine research.

Featuring: Slim Abdool Karim of CAPRISA, Pervin Anklesaria of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Khadija Richards of Wits RHI, and Huub Gelderblom of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN). 

To help spread the word about HVAD, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers sample social media messages for folks to copy, paste and share:

Facebook: Today is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, a day to recognize the volunteers, community members and researchers working to find a safe and effective vaccine to prevent HIV. Such a vaccine, along with existing HIV treatment and prevention strategies, would help achieve the goal of ending the HIV epidemic. #HVAD #EndHIVEpidemic

Twitter: Today is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, a day to recognize the volunteers, community members and researchers working to find a safe and effective vaccine to prevent #HIV. Such a vaccine, along with existing HIV treatment and prevention strategies, would help to #EndHIVEpidemic. #HVAD

Instagram: Today is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, a day to recognize the volunteers, community members and researchers working to find a safe and effective vaccine to prevent HIV. Such a vaccine, along with existing HIV treatment and prevention strategies, would help achieve the goal of ending the HIV epidemic. #HVAD #EndHIVEpidemic #HIV

To read more about HIV vaccine research, check out  #HIV Vaccine. You’ll find a collection of articles on the topic, including “Still Much To Do,” an interview with Anthony Fauci, MD.