HIV Vaccine Awareness Day May 18

Friday, May 18 is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day—time to reflect on the progress made in HIV prevention research and treatment and look ahead at ways of increasing community awareness and support.

As the home to the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN)—the largest clinical trials network for an HIV vaccine in the world—and the Statistical Center for HIV/AIDS Research and Prevention (SCHARP), the Hutchinson Center is on the frontline of the global fight to find a preventive vaccine against HIV.

"Every 10 minutes, someone in the United States is infected with HIV," said Dr. Jim Kublin, executive director, HVTN Core. "A preventive vaccine against HIV offers the best long-term hope to end this worldwide epidemic. Developing such a vaccine is also one of the world's greatest scientific challenges."

Get involved on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day
 
Community activities and media events will take place across in the country. Here are some things you can do locally.

• Join Seattle HIV Vaccine Trials Unit (HVTU) recruiters and members of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence - The Abbey of St. Joan on a tour of bars and businesses to promote the HVTU's campaign to build community support for HIV vaccine research. The event runs 7 p.m. Friday, May 18, to 2 a.m. Saturday, May 19. First stop: Madison Pub, 1315 E. Madison St.
  
  The Seattle HVTU recruits local participants to vaccine trials directed by the HVTN.
  
• Read more about the HVTN's achievements in the Network's newsletter - During the last decade, while conducting numerous clinical trials, the HVTN has made significant scientific contributions to the field and set precedents in community engagement.

Volunteers needed for HVTN 505 and other studies

The HVTN is currently running HVTN 505, the only active HIV vaccine efficacy trial in the United States. HVTN researchers seek to enroll a total of 2,200 men who have sex with men, and transgender women. The trial is enrolling participants in 18 cities, including Seattle, and needs 400 more participants nationally to meet the recruitment goal.

Volunteers at lower risk of HIV infection are needed for other studies.

For more information or to find out about eligibility to participate in a vaccine trial, please call the Seattle HIV Vaccine Trials Unit at (206) 667-2300 or visit www.seattlevaccines.org.