HIV & AIDS

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Antiquated HIV laws excessively target Black men for actions that don’t even transmit the virus

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Ohio activists are arming themselves with new data in the battle to repeal antiquated laws across the country that criminalize people with HIV. Two reports, one released by Equality Ohio with the Ohio Health Modernization Movement, and another from The Williams Institute at UCLA, look at the criminalization of HIV in the Buckeye State. They discovered that over half of prosecutions for so-called “HIV crimes” were for acts statistically unlikely to transmit HIV.   Ohio has six laws on the books that either criminalize certain acts by people living with HIV or substantially increase sentences for them compared to other people in the criminal […]

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH – HIV still plagues Black Americans at alarming rates

As part of Black History Month, February 7th marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day dedicated to addressing the disproportionate impact of the HIV epidemic on Black Americans amidst this month of reflection and acknowledgment of Black heritage and achievements.  In recent years, we’ve witnessed remarkable biomedical advances in HIV treatment and prevention, as well as in innovation in care delivery through telemedicine. However, despite these advancements, Black Americans and other non-white communities still experience higher rates of HIV and have less access to HIV testing and prevention medications compared to their white counterparts. New technologies, such as injectables […]

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Transphobia hurts trans women’s health, new HIV research finds

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New research published this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that social and economic marginalization, including employment and housing discrimination, increases transgender women’s risk of contracting HIV. The report, published Thursday in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, analyzed data from a survey of more than 1,600 transgender women in seven U.S. cities from 2019 to 2020. The goal of the survey was to assess for the first time the factors that have led transgender women—and especially trans women of color—in the U.S. to have disproportionately high rates of HIV infection. Survey participants were also […]

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Tennessee’s penalties for HIV-positive people are discriminatory, DOJ says

Tennessee’s decades-old aggravated prostitution statute violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday after an investigation, warning that the state could face a lawsuit if officials don’t immediately cease enforcement. Tennessee is the only state in the United States that imposes a lifetime registration as a “violent sex offender” if convicted of engaging in sex work while living with HIV, regardless of whether the person knew they could transmit the disease. LGBTQ and civil rights advocates have long criticized the measure as discriminatory, making it almost impossible to find housing and employment due to the […]

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A hack for affording Doxy PEP if you’re uninsured

Looking for DoxyPEP & uninsured? Picking up your prescription of DoxyPEP is just a few steps away! Here’s how to get GoodRx’s coupon to use for a discounted price of doxycycline at the pharmacy.  1.  Go to GoodRx.com. 2. Enter “Doxycycline hyclate” in the search bar. Then click “Find the lowest prices.” 3. Section 1: Check your prescription Confirm the selections are set to: 4. Section 2: Choose your pharmacy 5. Section 3: Pick the price that’s right for you 6. Get your coupon. 7. Show the GoodRx to the pharmacist when picking up your prescription to get the discounted price. Alto pharmacy […]

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STI Rates, Including HIV, Could Spike Due to Medicaid Cuts

We have come a long way from the days when HIV was an almost certain death sentence. But our work is far from over. The COVID-19 pandemic led to an uptick in rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, and low-income communities, LGBTQ+ communities, and communities of color continue to be impacted at alarming and disproportionately high rates. These communities are also more likely to be served by Medicaid. Medicaid is the largest source of insurance coverage for people living with HIV in the United States, covering an estimated 40 percent of nonelderly adults with HIV, and Medicaid accounted for 45 percent […]

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Here’s how Amsterdam has almost eradicated HIV transmission

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Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands seems well on its way to accomplishing its goal of zero HIV transmissions by 2026. Only nine cases of HIV were reported in Amsterdam last year, thanks to heavy investment in pre-exposure prophylactics (PrEP), a drug protocol that prevents HIV transmission, and other HIV-prevention efforts. While scientists have announced that a half dozen people may have been cured of HIV worldwide, the process is painful and expensive. It generally requires a bone marrow transplant after a cancer diagnosis. Dutch health authorities have found a way to circumvent the curing process that prioritizes prevention […]

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Fake HIV medication “kingpin” pled guilty. He could be going to prison for years.

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The second of two Florida men identified as the “kingpins” in a massive scheme to supply counterfeit HIV medication to U.S. pharmacies, suppliers, and patients has pleaded guilty. Armando Herrera pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to introduce adulterated and misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, the Department of Justice announced earlier this week. The scheme was to find discarded HIV pill bottles, fill them with fake meds, and reseal them before selling them to unsuspecting victims. According to the DOJ, Herrera and his co-conspirator, Lazaro Roberto Hernandez, set up companies in Florida, Texas, Washington, and California, which they used to primarily […]

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Insurers must cover injectable HIV prevention drug — unless courts void mandate

A national health task force’s sterling new endorsement of a long-acting injectable medication for use as HIV prevention will require health insurers to begin covering the pricey drug by 2025. Such expanded access to the preventive therapy could lend a much-needed boost to the country’s relatively anemic efforts to thwart the HIV epidemic. However, the hotly anticipated development in the four-decade fight against HIV is on a legal collision course. A conservative lawsuitadvancing through the courts could void the requirement that insurers cover the HIV-prevention drug, along with dozens of other coverage mandates stemming from the task force’s recommendations. That could have a […]

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In remission from HIV, a sixth person could join the club of those possibly cured

A European man has been in a state of remission from HIV infection for nearly two years after receiving a stem cell transplant to treat blood cancer. If enough time passes with no signs of viable virus, he could join the rarefied club of five people who are considered either definitely or possibly cured of HIV. All six people had HIV when they received stem cell transplants to treat blood cancers such as leukemia or lymphoma. But unlike the five other cases, this new one involves a person whose donor did not have a rare genetic abnormality that generates resistance […]

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