Countries that Persecute Gay Men Are Driving up HIV Rates, Study Finds
HIV & AIDS
How to Afford PrEP and HIV Meds if You Lose Health Insurance
If you’re one of the more than 44 million people who have become recently unemployed thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be worried about what that might mean for your access to health care, HIV care, or PrEP. “We have seen a lot of people in our PrEP program or who receive our HIV services–in addition to new clients who have recently lost their health insurance–who come in wondering how to afford their medications,” said Reina Hernandez, PrEP benefits and HIV linkage manager. “Income from unemployment benefits might put you above the Medi-Cal threshold, meaning that you won’t be able to […]
Researchers Say, “Black Lives Matter”: Racial justice, Equity Addressed at AIDS 2020 Conference
Although AIDS conferences have previously tackled the issue of racial disparities in HIV, conversations often stop with data and urgent calls to reach “key populations” or “those most at risk for HIV,” coded language oftentimes referring to Black, brown, Latinx and Indigenous people of color in the U.S. Now, conversations about racism and racial justice in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and others are permeating the largest international conference on HIV and AIDS–AIDS 2020–held virtually the week of July 6, 2020. Researchers, practitioners, and activists are discussing systemic bias in public health and […]
High HIV Incidence Rate among Young, Latinx Trans Women in SF Study
In a recently published report in JAIDS, Willi McFarland, MD, PhD and colleagues describe HIV seroconversion trends among trans women in San Francisco from 2017 – 2019 collected in the TransNational Study. Young trans women (aged 18 – 24) had a significantly higher HIV incidence, as did Latinx trans women and trans women of color. “Perhaps the most disheartening finding is the elevated HIV incidence among young trans women,” the authors said. “The nearly four-fold higher incidence among transgender youth predicts a continuing high burden of infection for years to come.” “San Francisco is a small city with a lot of […]
There’s a big Difference in the Way the New York Times Reported 100,000 Coronavirus Deaths and 100,000 AIDS Deaths
The New York Times made an impact with a front page dominated by the “incalculable loss” of 100,000 people who have tragically died of coronavirus in the US. The grim milestone puts the US far behind every other country in the world in dealing with the pandemic, and the death toll continues to rise day by day. “They were not simply names on a list. They were us,” the paper read on Monday (May 25). “Numbers alone cannot possibly measure the impact of the coronavirus on America.” So instead, the entire page was filled top to bottom with death notices of victims […]
Long-acting Injection Beats Truvada Pill in HIV Prevention Trial
GlaxoSmithKline said an injection every other month of its cabotegravir drug was shown to avert an HIV infection more effectively than Gilead’s daily Truvada pill, potentially giving its ViiV unit a foothold in HIV prevention. The drug trial involving men who have sex with men was stopped early by an independent monitoring board after cabotegravir was found to be 69 percent more effective than the current standard of care, Truvada, the British drugmaker said on Monday. But the market segment GSK is eyeing is about to become more competitive as cheaper generic versions of Truvada are expected to be launched […]
Long-acting Injection Beats Truvada Pill in HIV Prevention Trial
GlaxoSmithKline said an injection every other month of its cabotegravir drug was shown to avert an HIV infection more effectively than Gilead’s daily Truvada pill, potentially giving its ViiV unit a foothold in HIV prevention. The drug trial involving men who have sex with men was stopped early by an independent monitoring board after cabotegravir was found to be 69 percent more effective than the current standard of care, Truvada, the British drugmaker said on Monday. But the market segment GSK is eyeing is about to become more competitive as cheaper generic versions of Truvada are expected to be launched […]
World Health Organization Says ‘We have Come to Terms’ with HIV, Missing the Glaringly Obvious
A World Health Organization (WHO) official said society has “come to terms” with HIV, but he missed a glaringly obvious point. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergencies programme, said at a conference Wednesday (May 13) that COVID-19 may “never go away” and referred to the HIV epidemic, which took hold in the 1980s. “[COVID 19] may become just another endemic virus in our communities and this virus may never go away,” Ryan said. “HIV has not gone away but we’ve come to terms with the virus and we have found the therapies and we have found the prevention methods, and people don’t […]
Lockdown ‘has Broken the HIV Chain’, Says Leading London Health Clinic
HIV transmission has dropped significantly with lockdown breaking the chain of new cases, a leading sexual health clinic has claimed. 56 Dean Street, a London-based sexual health clinic, is urging people to order free home test kits online in an effort to keep the number of new HIV cases down when the pandemic is over. The clinic said HIV transmission has “plummeted” during coronavirus lockdown. “Even COVID clouds have silver linings,” it wrote on its website. “Fewer hook-ups since lockdown has resulted in a huge reduction of HIV and other STIs. The chain is broken.” 56 Dean Street says an increase in testing could […]
Are those Living with HIV at Higher Risk of Coronavirus? Experts Weigh in
Matthew, 30, keeps an emergency stockpile of his life-saving HIV medication at his home in Sacramento, California. He started building his stash shortly after he was diagnosed six years ago, on the recommendation of people he met through a forum for those living with HIV. Without his once-a-day pill, his viral load would increase and his general health would decline. Now, over a month after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic, Matthew hasn’t broken into his stash. But, like many of the 1.1 million HIV-positive people in the United States, he has questions about how the […]