HIV Vaccines: An Introductory Factsheet

A preventive HIV vaccine would teach the immune system to create responses that prevent the virus from establishing infection in the body. No licensed preventive HIV vaccine exists at present.

A therapeutic HIV vaccine would improve the body’s immune response to HIV in people living with HIV and thereby reduce their risk of getting sick and, ideally, also reduce their reliance on antiretroviral treatment. Therapeutic vaccine research may provide important clues to the ongoing search for a cure for HIV. No proven therapeutic HIV vaccine exists at present.

This factsheet focuses on research into preventive vaccines for use by HIV-negative people.