May 18 is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD), a day when partners around the world join to celebrate the people, partnerships and science pushing ever closer to a safe, efficacious and accessible vaccine against HIV. Check out AVAC’s dedicated HVAD 2020 page, which includes a toolkit, details on related webinars to support advocacy and action and more.
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HVAD 2020
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HIV Vaccine Science and Advocacy Priorities this HVAD
On Thursday, May 16, 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, provided their perspectives on the current vaccine landscape, the advocacy priorities and what should be on all of our minds as this exciting science progresses.
Recording: YouTube / Audio / Introductory Slides / Mary Marovich’s Slides
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Growing Epidemic of Vaccine Hesitancy and the Implications for Global Health
On Thursday, May 23, Heidi Larson, the Director of The Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene discussed vaccine hesitancy and its implications across global health. We were also joined by Laura Lopez Gonzalez, deputy editor of South Africa’s Bhekisisa Health Journalism Centre, who shared perspectives on broader vaccine issues, especially as they play out in the media and affect the AIDS response.
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Webinar: HIV Research in the Era of PrEP: The implications of TDF/FTC for biomedical prevention trials
On Thursday, October 26, colleagues from the Treatment Action Group (TAG), along with advocates, researchers and GPP practitioners, discussed the recommendations from TAG’s recently released white paper, HIV Research in the Era of PrEP: The Implications of TDF/FTC for Biomedical Prevention Trials.
The effectiveness and increasing availability of oral PrEP raises questions about how it should be incorporated into clinical trial designs for next-generation HIV prevention options. This paper explores ethics, the scientific literature to date, and advocates’ views on the issue.
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Webinar: Vaccine and Cure Research in Europe: the EHVA and HIVACAR Consortiums
AVAC PxROAR Europe presents a webinar introducing European approaches to HIV vaccines and a cure:
- The European HIV Alliance’s Sheena McCormack will discuss HIV vaccines and the quest to identify immune correlates associated with control of HIV replication. The EHVA is a consortium of 39 partners from eleven countries in Europe plus four in sub-Saharan Africa and the US. It is pursuing a number of different preventative vaccine strategies including improved viral vectors, modified versions of HIV envelope proteins and dendritic-cell vaccines.
- HIVACAR’s Felipe Garcia will discuss research into a therapeutic alternative to “cART for life” (combined antiretroviral therapy). An innovative strategy based on the patient’s immune system that is safe, affordable and scalable to achieve the functional cure of HIV-1 infection will be tested in a Phase I/IIa clinical trial. HIVACAR is a 14-site consortium evaluating a combination of immune-based therapies to achieve a functional cure of HIV infection.
Both EHVA and HIVACAR are funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.
Recording: YouTube / Audio / EHVA Slides / HIVACAR Slides
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Webinar: HVAD 2018
On Thursday, May 17, AVAC’s HVAD 2018 webinar told the story of the current state of HIV vaccine research from two perspectives. Dr. Sandhya Vasan of the Military HIV Research Program in Thailand provided her perspectives on the world of HIV vaccine research since RV144: where have we come and where are we going? Mark Hubbard, a veteran vaccine advocate and community representative for HIV research in Nashville, Tennessee offered his take from a community and advocacy perspective: what are today’s current successes and challenges, and how are community members pushing the HIV vaccine agenda?
Recording: YouTube / Audio / Dr. Sandhya Vasan’s Slides / Mark Hubbard’s Slides
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HIV Vaccine Awareness Day 2017 Webinar Series
This year marks the 20th anniversary of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD). As HIV prevention advocates, we find ourselves in new terrain when it comes to vaccine research—both in terms of scientific progress and the challenging political environment. We highlight these important issues in an HVAD webinar series leading up to and ending on May 18.
Recordings of the webinars available here:
- Ad26 Mosaic Program—Janssen’s Maria Pau discusses preparations for the next efficacy trial
April 28 – YouTube / Audio / Slides - The History—and Future—of the NIH’s Vaccine Research Center with Barney Graham
May 4 – YouTube / Audio / Slides - Building on (and Building!) Success—status of HVTN 702 with Fatima Laher
May 8 – YouTube / Audio / Slides - “Plan B”-NAb? An Overview of Antibody Research with Lynn Morris
May 11 – YouTube / Audio / Slides - An Overview of Vaccine Development with Julie Ake of MHRP
May 18 – YouTube / Audio / Slides
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Webinar: Ad26 Mosaic Program—Janssen’s Maria Pau discusses preparations for the next efficacy trial
The HIV Vaccine Awareness Day 2017 webinar series kicked off with an overview of the Ad26/mosaic vaccine efficacy program from Janssen’s Maria Grazia Pau. This strategy is notable both for the science and for the active leadership from industry. Dr. Pau did a terrific job of explaining where the strategy fits into the broader vaccine field.
Recording Available: YouTube / Audio / Slides
This was one in a series of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day webinars. For details on all other calls, including recordings, visit here.
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Webinar: The History—and Future—of the NIH’s Vaccine Research Center with Barney Graham
Long-time vaccine researcher Barney Graham presented an excellent overview of the history and work of NIH’s Vaccine Research Center (VRC)—established two decades ago on the inaugural HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD) in 1997. Download the recording for an accessible overview of the HIV vaccine field, the connections between the work on HIV and other vaccines at the VRC and tips on what advocates and researchers should be calling for this HVAD.
Recording Available: YouTube / Audio / Slides
This was one in a series of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day webinars. For details on all other calls, including recordings, visit here.
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Webinar: Building on (and Building!) Success—Status of HVTN 702 with Fatima Laher
Dr. Fatima Laher, protocol co-chair of HVTN 702, provides an overview of the first HIV vaccine efficacy trial in seven years. Her presentation looks at the history, starting with partial success of RV144 in 2009, and talks about the role HVTN 702 as the field advances toward an effective vaccine.
Recording: YouTube / Audio / Slides
This was one in a series of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day webinars. For details on all other calls, including recordings, visit here.