WHAT:

UAB’s Alabama Vaccine Research Clinic will give away information and promotional items at a booth on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. Again this year, area residents are asked to commemorate the day by wearing a red AIDS ribbon turned upside down symbolizing a "V" for "vaccines." Ribbons will be given away at the clinic’s information booth. HIV Vaccine Awareness Day is set aside each year to draw attention to the urgent need for a vaccine to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. The theme of this year’s national event is “Hope for the Future.”

WHEN:

Wednesday, May 18, 2005
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

WHERE:

UAB Hill University Center
1400 University Boulevard
Birmingham, AL

MORE:

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day recognizes the thousands of volunteers, researchers and health professionals committed to finding a safe and effective vaccine for HIV. Since UAB’s vaccine clinic opened in 1994, it has enrolled more than 1,000 volunteers in numerous studies funded by the National Institutes of Health to test the safety and effectiveness of potential HIV vaccines.

Since the first case of AIDS was reported in Alabama in 1982, more than 14,000 Alabamians, including more than 4,000 people in Jefferson County, have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Many others are infected but have not been diagnosed. Globally, nearly 5.3 million new infections occur each year, and most people do not have access to effective treatment. A vaccine is the best hope for controlling the global pandemic.

There is absolutely no chance of contracting HIV from a test vaccine and volunteers are reimbursed for their participation in HIV trials.

For more information, contact James Mapson or Tena Hilario-Hailey at (205) 934-6777.