May 2026

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD) is recognized annually on May 18. Although there is no vaccine to prevent HIV, scientists around the world, with the support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), are working to develop one. From HIV.gov: “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.” Vaccines historically have been the most effective means to prevent and even eradicate infectious diseases. Like smallpox and polio vaccines, a preventative HIV vaccine could help save millions of lives.  In honor of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, AIDSVu  spoke with Jarissa Greenard from Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s HIV Vaccine program about the importance of community trust, representation, and culturally responsive outreach in advancing HIV vaccine research. Read the enlightening conversation here.

Find more information about the history of HIV vaccines from International Society for Infectious Disease. To learn more about HIV Vaccine clinical trials visit HIV Vaccine Clinical Trials Network (HVTN).

SAVE THE DATE! Immunize Illinois Coalition will host “The Next Chapter for Immunize Illinois” on June 25 at 1:30pm CT. This virtual presentation will update the community on the next steps of the Coalition as well as plans for the coming year.  Stay tuned for more details and registration!

Find trainings, webinars, and important dates related to vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases.

• June 1, 2026  |  Midwest Immunization Consortium is hosting “20 Years of HPV Protection, Prevention, and Progress” at 12:00 PM CT. The Summit will focus on policies and partnerships that drive HPV-related cancer prevention and highlight the HPV vaccine success. See flyer for details. Click here to register!

• June 5, 2026  |  Conquering HPV: It Takes a Village Symposium 2026, is a multidisciplinary, full‑day educational event dedicated to understanding, preventing, and managing HPV‑related disease across the lifespan. Designed for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and other healthcare professionals, the symposium brings together leading experts in pediatrics, infectious diseases, oncology, dentistry, otolaryngology, and public health to address the clinical, scientific, and societal challenges associated with HPV. This conference is being held in-person and virtually and offers continuing education credits for nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy techs, physicians, and dentists! Additional information and details to register can be found here.

• June 18, 2026,  |  “Strengthening Community Protection Against Pertussis and Meningitis” at 1:00 PM CT.  Join public health leaders and Sanofi Medical Affairs experts for an engaging webinar focused on translating the latest pertussis and meningitis epidemiology into actionable community strategies. Participants will explore current disease trends, vaccine coverage data, and evidence-based approaches to improving vaccine uptake, expanding access, and addressing immunization gaps through peer-to-peer learning and real-world examples from local jurisdictions. Register Here
• June 23, 2026  |  Indiana Immunization Coalition will host “Pediatric Vaccine Conversations: Addressing Common Concerns” at 2:00 PM CT. During the webinar, presenter Tracie Newman, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Practice at North Dakota State University, will discuss ways to address concerns that typically arise. Register here.

Vax Advocate Training. Are you interested in using your voice to make your family, school, neighborhood, or community healthier? Voices for Vaccines is building a community of Vaccine Advocates. Attend monthly training sessions for actionable tools and best practices in vaccine advocacy

• Topics include the 4-A method, storytelling for social change, pro-vaccine messaging and media, resilience for advocates, and leadership 
• Access toolkits to engage communities in vaccine advocacy
• Meet like-minded people from other communities advocating for immunization

If you’re interested in learning more, fill out the form as “volunteer” here.

HPV Vaccine Brief. A resource from The Evidence Collective to help you talk confidently about HPV Vaccines. This brief is available here. Subscribe to The Evidence Collective on Substack.

Love Vaccinates: Faith and Community. What does faith have to do with vaccines? Everything. In this powerful Love Vaccinates webinar, held on May 4, 2026, faith leaders and public health advocates come together to explore how vaccination is an act of love, community care, and faith in action. This webinar was made possible through partnership with Voices for Vaccines, Immunize Kansas Coalition, and Kansas-based faith leaders. The recording can be viewed here.

Community-Level Immunization Advocacy: Tools, Resources, and CHW Leadership held on April 24, 2026, can be found on IPHA’s Learning Management System (LMS) IPHA Academy in the Vaccine Education Module. The entire three-part series is now available!

They Remember a World Without Vaccines. Meet the ‘grandfluencers’ taking on vaccine hesitancy, one story at a time. Plus, how you can help their mission. Grandparents for Vaccines was featured in Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper in April 2026. Read the article here.

A Slew of New Studies Support Maternal RSV Vaccination, Nirsevimab Immunization for Infants. Six recent studies conclude that maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination and the long-acting monoclonal antibody nirsevimab for infants help protect mothers and their infants from infection and poor outcomes. Read the article from CIDRAP, University of Minnesota here.

CDC Restores Official U.S. Immunization Schedules to July 2, 2025 Versions to Comply with March 16 Court Order. Courtesy of IZ Coalitions Network News:

 “In compliance with the March 16 federal court ruling in American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy, CDC restored its official child and adolescent immunization schedule and its official adult immunization schedule to the July 2, 2025, versions. These versions reflect the decisions of the ACIP through its April 2025 meeting, before the replacement of those 17 members with new members in June 2025. The appointments of the new members and their subsequent decisions were stayed by the court. For more information, see the Common Health Coalition’s 2-page summary of the AAP v. Kennedy Ruling and what it means for clinicians and families.

With the July 2025 schedules restored, routine ACIP recommendations are once again in effect for hepatitis A, hepatitis B (including routine birth dose), influenza, meningococcal ACWY, and rotavirus vaccines, as well as routine 2- or 3-dose HPV vaccination (depending on age at initiation). Once again, MMRV is an option on the schedule for children younger than age 4 years when preferred by parents, including VFC-eligible children.

CDC also changed its Vaccines for Children program (VFC) web pages to reflect the return to the 2025 schedule.

Clesrovimab (Enflonsia, Merck) was licensed by FDA for use as an option for RSV prevention in infants during their first RSV season in June 2025, too late to be included on the July 2 version of the 2025 schedule; however, there is no barrier to continuing its use for commercially insured or VFC-eligible infants. CDC’s VFC resolution was updated on April 20, 2026, to include clesrovimab in addition to nirsevimab (Beyfortus, Sanofi) for age-eligible infants during their first RSV season.

Readers will note that COVID-19 vaccination remains based on shared clinical decision making (SCDM) for all ages, reflecting the May 2025 HHS Secretarial Directive.

CDC indicated to its partners that it will not issue a formal communication about these changes. Immunize.org encourages clinicians, immunization program partners, and professional societies to share this information broadly and to confirm that vaccination schedules, VFC ordering guidance, patient education materials, and electronic health record prompts reflect the restored July 2, 2025, recommendations.”

Mpox Infections May Outnumber Diagnosed Cases 33 to 1, Study Suggests. From CIDRAP, asymptomatic mpox infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) may be far more common than previously recognized and could be playing a role in ongoing transmission according to a study recently published by Nature Communications. To read more, find the article here. To find mpox vaccine locations, visit IDPH’s Vaccine Locator Dashboard.

In 1944, Sharpe & Dohme presented “A Passport to Health,” a dramatic film showing how to free America’s children from preventable diseases. The film addresses common misconceptions and hesitations some parents have about immunizations, such as the unfounded belief that experiencing diseases naturally makes children stronger. Sound familiar? This 22-minute film has been digitized and uploaded to YouTube by A/V Geeks from archives that can be viewed here or clicking on the picture. Take a few minutes to view this piece of history and realize. . .all that is old, is new again.

Protection is powerful!

Thank you for helping Illinois stay immunized!