HIV Vaccine Awareness Day 2022: Know Why It Is Observed On May 18 And How HIV Vaccines Work

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day recognises the many volunteers, community members, health professionals, and scientists working together to develop a vaccine to prevent HIV.

New Delhi: HIV Vaccine Awareness Day is observed every year on May 18 to commemorate United States President Bill Clinton's 1997 declaration that "only a truly effective, preventive HIV vaccine can limit and eventually eliminate the threat of AIDS." 

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day recognises the many volunteers, community members, health professionals, and scientists working together to develop a vaccine to prevent HIV, the US National Institutes of Health said on its website. The day is also an opportunity to educate communities about the importance of preventive HIV vaccine research, because a safe and effective preventive HIV vaccine would play an essential role in ensuring the end of the HIV pandemic. 

What Is HIV?

HIV, which stands for human immunodeficiency virus, is a virus that attacks the immune system, and can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) if not treated. There is currently no effective cure for HIV, and once people get the disease, they have it for life. However, HIV can be controlled with proper medical care and effective treatment that will help them live long and healthy lives. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HIV treatment involves taking medicine that reduces the amount of the virus in the body. HIV medicine is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, taking HIV medicine does not prevent transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases.

Are HIV Vaccines Available?

Finding a vaccine against HIV has remained elusive. At the end of 2021, Johnson & Johnson announced that an experimental vaccine, which was the result of a 15-year effort, offered no protection against HIV acquisition. 

However, efforts to develop a vaccine against HIV have not come to a halt. For instance, American pharmaceutical company Moderna is testing an HIV vaccine using the same messenger RNA vaccine technology that proved safe and effective against coronavirus. A Phase 1 clinical trial for the vaccine began in November 2021. 

What Is A Preventive HIV Vaccine?

A preventive HIV vaccine is given to people who do not have HIV, with the goal of preventing HIV infection in the future, and teaches the person's immune system to recognise and effectively fight HIV in case the person is exposed to the virus. Currently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved any preventive HIV vaccine, but research is underway.

What Is A Therapeutic HIV Vaccine?

A therapeutic HIV vaccine is one that is designed to improve the body's immune response to HIV in a person who already has HIV, and can help slow down the progression of HIV to AIDS. Researchers are developing and testing therapeutic HIV vaccines which are expected to ideally keep HIV at undetectable levels, known as undetectable viral load, without the need for regular ART. 

A therapeutic HIV vaccine could also decrease the likelihood of a person transmitting HIV to others. 

How To Prevent HIV Infection?

HIV infection can be prevented by using strategies such as abstinence, never sharing needles, and using reproductive barrier methods. One can also use HIV prevention medicines such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). 

PEP means taking medicine to prevent HIV after a possible exposure, and should be used only in emergency situations. It must be started within 72 hours after a recent possible exposure to HIV.