HIV Vaccine Awareness Day

May 18

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD) recognizes the many volunteers, community members, health professionals, and scientists working together to develop a vaccine that can prevent HIV. It is also an opportunity to educate communities about the importance of preventive HIV vaccine research. Observed each year on May 18, this day honors U.S. President Bill Clinton’s 1997 statement that “only a truly effective, preventive HIV vaccine can limit and eventually eliminate the threat of AIDS.”  

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) HIV research program, coordinated by the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR), supports research to develop a safe and effective HIV vaccine. NIH also studies how to encourage people to receive an HIV vaccine once it is available. Researchers are making promising headway in efforts to develop a safe, effective HIV vaccine. These include vaccine candidates that: 

  • Use broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), which can recognize and block the virus from entering immune cells.  
  • Trigger an HIV-specific immune response through T cells, a type of white blood cell, that can recognize HIV and help prevent chronic infections.
  • Use messenger RNA (mRNA) platforms to help the immune system recognize, remember, and respond to the virus. 

Insights on HIV vaccines has also helped scientists make major discoveries in other areas of medicine. Most recently, these insights provided a foundation for rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines.  

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day logo.

Additional Resources

NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR)

  • FY 2021–2025 NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research provides a roadmap for the NIH to guide HIV-related research and direct HIV research funding to the highest-priority areas to help end HIV.  NIH supports research to develop an effective vaccine and antibody mediated protection strategies, new formulations and methods of pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis, and behavioral and social-structural interventions.
  • NIH Statement on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day 2023: This NIH statement, jointly issued by OAR and the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), recognizes the global community of scientists, advocates, study participants, study staff, and funders working together to drive significant progress and innovation toward developing a highly effective HIV vaccine.
  • This OAR webpage describes how NIH-funded research is helping to reduce the incidence of HIV through clinical trials to test effectiveness of potential HIV vaccines, as well as through research to advance other nonvaccine prevention methods.
  • HIVinfo.NIH.gov is an online source, maintained by OAR, that provides HIV-related infographics, fact sheets, and links to HIV-related resources from federal and nonfederal sources. Check out the following resources on HIV vaccines:   

NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN)

  • The HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) is the world’s largest publicly funded multidisciplinary international collaboration focused on the development of vaccines to prevent HIV. HVTN conducts all phases of clinical trials, from evaluating experimental vaccines for safety and immunogenicity to testing vaccine efficacy. HVTN receives support through a collaborative agreement with the NIAID Division of AIDS.  

Clinical Trials About HIV Vaccines

HIV.gov

  • HIV.gov provides information on the U.S. government’s HIV response, including relevant federal policies, programs, and resources, to increase knowledge about HIV and access to HIV services. Learn more about HIV vaccines.