As of March 2023, the World Health Organization reported that there are 199 COVID-19 vaccines in pre-clinical development, and 183 in clinical trials. Most are injectable; but 16 candidates are intranasal, 5 are oral, 2 are inhalable, and 1 is an aerosol.
Getting the COVID-19 Vaccines We Need
HIV Vaccine Research
HIV vaccine research is a multifaceted endeavor that requires collaboration across many disciplines to develop a vaccine that protects people from HIV infection. The graphic outlines the different areas of research that are being pursued, including vaccine platforms, immune system research, clinical research capacity, and community engagement.
Excerpted From Lab to Jab.
West & Central Africa Oral PrEP Initiations, 2023
As of Q3 2023, the top five West and Central African countries for PrEP initiation have surpassed 10,000 initiations; Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana and Nigeria. Nigeria has marked almost 550,000 cumulative initiations as of this quarter, ranking it second, behind South Africa, worldwide. These milestones can be credited to targeted PEPFAR investments. But despite these successes, West and Central Africa make up only 14 percent of PrEP initiations recorded in Africa, compared to 85 percent reported by East and Southern Africa. These same countries are home to two thirds of all people living with HIV in West Africa. There is vital work to be done to close the gap.
West and Central Africa can and must continue to leverage this recent growth in oral PrEP by making additional HIV prevention options available. In September, Nigeria’s regulators approved injectable cabotegravir (CAB for PrEP)—approving the first new biomedical HIV prevention option in a West and Central African country since oral PrEP. But at this time, only one other CAB for PrEP application has been submitted in the region, in Côte d’Ivoire, and none for the dapivirine vaginal ring (DVR). Only one CAB for PrEP implementation study is planned for the region.
Excerpted from PxWire Volume 13, Issue 4.
PEPFAR Support for PrEP in 2023
PEPFAR’s role has been instrumental to accelerating global uptake of PrEP to date. In 2023, four countries started providing PrEP for the first time, and seven countries exceeded 70,000 new PrEP initiations, most of which are attributable to PEPFAR. This lifesaving, uniquely effective, program must see continued full funding and a 5-year reauthorization to carry on this work and help to put the world on track to control the epidemic.
Excerpted from PxWire Volume 13, Issue 4.
Vaccine Development History
A graphic showing the duration between discovery of the microbiologic cause of selected infectious diseases and the development of a vaccine.
Excerpted From the Lab to Jab.
AVAC Advocacy Fellows Program 2024-2025 Application Social Media Tile
The AVAC Advocacy Fellows Program is now recruiting its 13th class and is looking for the next cohort of emerging and mid-career advocates to explore what’s needed to address epidemics and progress global public health equity.
Want to help spread the word? Download our shareable social media tile.
A Comprehensive Approach for Progress
Ending the Epidemic
HIV-Specific Neutralizing Antibodies by Target
A number of broadly neutralizing antibodies that target various regions of HIV’s Env protein are being developed for HIV prevention.