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[UPDATE: Slides and recordings from both webinars are now available at www.avac.org/hvad.]
The field is on the brink of yet another HIV Vaccine Awareness Day – next Saturday, May 18. To mark the day, we hope you will join us for webinars on May 16 and on May 23 to explore the two themes at the top of our minds here at AVAC this HVAD.
First, of course, we’re excited by the momentum and promise in HIV vaccine research. Three HIV vaccine efficacy trial programs are now underway, including, for the first time in our field, a potential path to licensure of a vaccine.
On the other hand, we’re alarmed and disheartened by a global rise in what is sometimes called vaccine hesitancy, marked by measles outbreaks and a comeback of a disease almost eradicated through a vaccine.
On Thursday, May 16, 9am ET, Mary Marovich, the Director of the Vaccine Research Program at the Division of AIDS at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and long-time HIV vaccine research advocate and community leader, Mark Hubbard, will provide their perspectives on the current vaccine landscape, the advocacy priorities and what should be on all of our minds as this exciting science progresses. Register here.
On Thursday, May 23, 9am ET, Heidi Larson, the Director of The Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene will discuss vaccine hesitancy and its implications across global health. We’ll also be joined by colleagues at Bhekisisa, the health journalism center of the Mail & Guardian newspaper in South Africa, who will share perspectives on broader vaccine issues, especially as they play out in the media and affect the AIDS response. Register here.
Finally, watch this space! In the coming days, AVAC will provide you with our annual HVAD Toolkit of up-to-date materials and infographics to help translate HIV vaccine research in 2019 – and prepare for the future. If you need any of these ahead of time, please reach out!