Yeah HSV on its own would be awesome to find a good vaccine for but the insights it would give for vaccinations against the broader human herpes virus family would be massively impactful.

A successful HSV vaccine would also almost certainly lead to a vaccine for epstein-barr, cytomegalovirus, and roseolovirus.

Even ignoring the thousands of connections HSV is suspected to have to other diseases, getting insight towards the other 3 big "uncured" HHVs would be a massive deal.

EBV/mono is a silent but debilitating disease that infects a near majority of the population even in "developed countries" and is all but confirmed as a requirement for developing multiple sclerosis. EBV is also directly connected to a long list of cancers as well.

cytomegalovirus and roseolovirus while less common in the developed world are still far too common and globally are major sources of harm for infants and young children.

Any steps towards effective vaccination against the broader family of HHVs would be monumental.