HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, recognized annually on May 18th, commemorates the ongoing scientific, public health, and community efforts to develop a preventive HIV vaccine. As the quest for an HIV vaccine continues, and as we center the whole-person health of people living with HIV, this day is also an opportunity to highlight how access to additional vaccines are a critical but often overlooked component of comprehensive HIV prevention and care.
As vaccination rates decline, people living with HIV (PLWH) and communities most impacted by HIV are subjected to heightened vulnerabilities from preventable diseases. Advancing science-based federal action to improve vaccine access is essential to improving health outcomes for all Americans, and especially within the HIV community.
NMAC are proud partners of the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition (AVAC) and the Coalition to Stop Flu. These Coalitions prioritize three key funding asks for the FY2027 Budget Appropriations cycle:
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$782 million for the National Immunization Program. The immunization program at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides foundational funding and expertise for state and local health departments to carry out a variety of activities vital to the prevention, detection, and mitigation of vaccine-preventable conditions.
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$251 million for Influenza Planning and Response at CDC’s NCIRD. CDC’s Influenza Planning and Response programs help to protect the United States from seasonal influenza and pandemic influenza.
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$151 million for CDC Division of Viral Hepatitis. The National Viral Hepatitis Strategic Plan calls for the elimination of hepatitis A (HAV), B (HBV), and C as public health threats in the United States. HAV and HBV have a safe and highly effective vaccine that can prevent infection.
We also want to share key resources from our partners at the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN). It is imperative to increase the funding and research necessary to develop safe, and effective vaccines promptly to end the HIV epidemic globally.
Cecelia Thomas, Esq.
Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer
NMAC’s New HIV Vaccine Factsheet
Vaccines are a critical but often overlooked component of comprehensive HIV prevention and care, and people living with HIV face unique vulnerabilities that make equitable vaccine access a matter of life and death.
This new factsheet examines the barriers standing between PLWH and the vaccines they need, and outlines the federal policy priorities NMAC believes are essential to closing that gap.
Click here to download NMAC’s HIV Vaccine Factsheet!
Partner Resources
AVAC (AIDS Vaccine Access Coalition)
Commentary and resources shared by Mitchell Warren, Executive Director, AVAC.
Ahead of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, AVAC is sharing a set of updated resources on the HIV vaccine pipeline, the science behind neutralizing antibodies, the state of bNAb combinations, and the broader state of HIV research amid the destruction and devastation of science and the HIV response.
While an HIV vaccine remains elusive, in the current environment of threats to science, vaccines and the global HIV/AIDS response, HVAD serves as an important moment to re-commit to HIV vaccine R&D and the essential role of discovery science as part of a comprehensive, integrated and sustained response.
Upcoming Blog: Highlights the reality of funding constraints and argue for a balanced and strategic approach to HIV prevention, as we and partners laid out in the People’s Research Agenda, that recognizes both the urgency of scaling existing HIV prevention innovations like lenacapavir for HIV PrEP (LEN) and the necessity of sustaining the scientific enterprise needed to develop a durable HIV vaccine. Stay tuned for the blog here.
About HIV Vaccine Awareness Day
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD) recognizes the many volunteers, community members, health professionals, and scientists working together to develop a vaccine that can prevent HIV. It is also an opportunity to educate communities about the importance of preventive HIV vaccine research. Observed each year on May 18, this day honors U.S. President Bill Clinton’s 1997 statement that “only a truly effective, preventive HIV vaccine can limit and eventually eliminate the threat of AIDS.”
This statement was published by NMAC ahead of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on May 18, 2026.
