This day is a reminder about the importance of HIV vaccine research. AIDS is a life-threatening disease that has no cure as yet. National HIV Vaccine Awareness Day is aimed to make sure that people take proper precautions to avoid the spread of HIV. It is also a day to reach out to HIV-positive patients and help them cope with it. Approximately 1.1 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV and 39,000 Americans are newly infected with it every year. An estimated 14% of these people are unaware that they are infected and one-quarter of those infected are female.

National HIV Vaccine Awareness Day is celebrated on May 18 to acknowledge all those people who are working towards finding a vaccine for HIV.

The concept of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day originated from a speech by U.S. President Bill Clinton on May 18, 1997. He emphasized the importance of developing a vaccine for HIV within the coming decade, saying: “Only a truly effective, preventive HIV vaccine can limit and eventually eliminate the threat of AIDS.” The first HIV Vaccine Awareness Day was observed in 1998 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Bill Clinton’s speech on the topic. Every year, various organizations around the country organize events to make people more aware of HIV as well as its prevention. This helps bring together individuals in a collective effort to prevent the spread of the HIV pandemic.