HIV Vaccine Awareness Day

This HIV Vaccine Awareness Day—observed each year on May 18—takes place in a new era of vaccine science. AVAC’s theme for HVAD 2021 is “HIV Vaccine Research: Building on Lessons from COVID”. We are focused on how the COVID experience can speed the development AND delivery of vaccines for HIV, TB, malaria and other diseases. Below you'll find dedicated resources to help make sense of this unique moment in vaccine history, and to build a global vaccine advocacy agenda for the future.

Table of Contents

• AVAC's 2021 HVAD Toolkit
• Virtual Events
• Basic Resources
• Podcasts
• HVAD Opinion Pieces
• Additional Resources

AVAC's 2021 HVAD Toolkit

• Key Messages: Designed for easy communication, the HVAD 2021 messages outline the six ways that the COVID experience can shape HIV vaccine advocacy moving forward.
• Social Media Tiles: Sample tiles and tweets to inspire action to keep audiences #HIVvaccineaware this #HVAD2021. Download tiles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
• HIV Vaccine Basics: An updated PowerPoint presentation.

Virtual Events

• May 13 webinar: HIV Vaccines in the Midst of COVID, facilitated by AVAC’s Mitchell Warren and Daisy Ouya, this session featuring HIV vaccine researchers and advocates Barney Graham (NIH Vaccine Research Center), Definate Nhamo (PZAT), Linda-Gail Bekker (Desmond Tutu Health Foundation), Matthew Rose (Health GAP) and Pontiano Kaleebu (MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit), discussing new vaccine technologies, delivery challenges, community engagement, and confidence in both vaccines and vaccine research.
• May 17/18 webinars: IAVI Virtual Forums for Civil Society Organizations in Eastern and Southern Africa - HIV vaccines and broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) for HIV prevention. These forums, conducted in collaboration with KANCO in Kenya and SANAC in South Africa, contextualize new approaches to HIV vaccine development; highlight the significance of African science leadership in ensuring affordable, accessible, and contextually appropriate product development; and share lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic with regards to research partnerships and funding. Recording of the Eastern Africa webinar is available here, and the Southern Africa webinar will be shared when available.
• May 18, HVAD edition of VUKA show: This episode of VUKA show explored the remarkable advances in HIV vaccine research and the promising concepts being studied. Developed by WACI Health and Africa Free of New HIV Infections (AfNHi) - a regional advocacy network - this episode features AfNHi member Ntando Yola of APHA and the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation in conversation with Dr. Nyaradzo Mgodi, (MBChB, MMed), clinical pathologist from the University of Zimbabwe, about HIV vaccine research, community engagement and the need for a HIV vaccine.
• May 19, 9am-11am EST, Let’s Talk Vaccines launch: Internews will launch its e-learning course for journalists with an event featuring course authors and special guest Professor Salim Abdool Karim, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health epidemiologist and director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), moderated by Ida Jooste of Internews. Register here.
• May 20, 3:30-5:00 PM EST, What’s the difference? HIV and COVID-19 Vax: United We Rise, BlackDoctor.org and the HVTN will talk about the differences between HIV and COVID-19 vaccines with special guest Dominique Jackson from POSE for FX. Join the Facebook live webinar at facebook.com/everyblackbody, facebook.com/helpendhiv or facebook.com/BlackDoctor.org.

Basic Resources

• Clinical Trials Update: A table of past, current and planned vaccine trials.
• Infographics Gallery: Searchable by intervention, check out the gallery for all the latest infographics.

Podcasts

• Back to the beginning: AIDS and the elusive vaccine—the first episode of the new IAS podcast HIV unmuted, featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci (NIAID), Dr. Michael Gottlieb, Dr. Gregg Gonsalves and advocates Vincent Basajja (Uganda MRC), Udom Likhitwonnawut (VARG) and Maureen Luba (AVAC).
• Lessons learnt: What the COVID-19 experience in India can teach us about HIV vaccine research, delivery and access—this Citizen News Network and IAVI podcast is a conversation on the past, present and future of HIV research in the COVID context, and the implications of this research on scientific and clinical practice, and community participation.
• Dive into the AMP Trials—the latest episode of AVAC’s Px Pulse podcast, and which helps explain the results of the recent Antibody-Mediated Prevention (AMP) study and what it could mean for HIV vaccines.

HVAD Opinion Pieces

• Finding an HIV vaccine: Five lessons from the response to COVID-19—this op-ed by Mitchell Warren and Fatima Hassan of Health Justice Initiative takes a look at what the HIV field can learn from the search for a COVID-19 vaccine.
• HIV prevention ring: Kenya must prepare for this new tool while waiting on HIV vaccine—AVAC 2020 Fellow Joyce Ouma’s op-ed on the importance of the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring as we await an HIV vaccine, in Kenya’s The Star.
• USAID Marks HIV Vaccine Awareness Day: How HIV Vaccine Advocacy Can Leverage Lessons from COVID-19—this blog authored by USAID HIV vaccine experts highlights reflections from the Coalition to Accelerate and Support Prevention Research (CASPR) around how the evolving COVID-19 pandemic has affected HIV prevention research advocates, and what lessons learned from COVID-19 vaccine R&D could be applied to HIV vaccine R&D.
• We Need an HIV Vaccine. Here’s What You Can Do to Help—this opinion piece by Jim Pickett, Senior Director of Prevention Advocacy at the AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC), looks at the need for an HIV vaccine, the issues surrounding its development and how to use lessons learned from COVID-19 vaccine development.
• HIV Vaccine Awareness Day 2021—This article pull together social media posts from a variety of organizations aimed at educating the public about advancements in vaccine research and raising awareness about the need for an HIV vaccine.

Additional Resources

IAVI's HVAD Resources
Explore IAVI’s #HVAD2021 toolkit for the perspectives of scientists and community liaison teams, videos on the science and development of vaccines, and tiles and tweets supporting their HVAD campaign at #EyesOnTheTarget and more.