HIV & AIDS

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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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Lambda Legal Sues Nashville Police Department for HIV Discrimination 

Lambda Legal, with partners McDermott Will & Emery and Merchant Gould P.C., filed a federal lawsuit against Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County late last week challenging the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s (MNPD) discriminatory policies and practices that reject all job applicants living with HIV.  The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on behalf of an anonymous plaintiff, John Doe, a 45-year-old Black man and decorated civil servant living with HIV who has worked as a Tennessee State Trooper and with the Memphis Police Department for several years. The plaintiff was […]

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Anti-abortion politics are threatening a vital HIV prevention program

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Anti-abortion advocates in the U.S. are threatening to kill one of the most successful public health programs in history over unsubstantiated facts, unwavering opposition to a woman’s right to choose, and blatant anti-LGBTQ+ bias. Conservative rganizations, including the Heritage Foundation and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, are threatening U.S. lawmakers with the withdrawal of their support if they grant a routine reauthorization to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the hugely successful HIV prevention initiative in Africa. The far-right Family Research Council describes the 20-year-old program as “a massive slush fund for abortion and LGBT advocacy.” PEPFAR, […]

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U.S. progress in HIV fight continues to trail many other rich nations

New HIV infections continue to ebb only modestly in the United States, while many other wealthy Western nations have posted steep reductions, thanks to more successful efforts overseas to promptly diagnose and treat the virus and promote the HIV prevention pill, PrEP. In a new HIV surveillance report published Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that new HIV transmissions declined by 12% nationally between 2017 and 2021, from 36,500 to 32,100 cases. By comparison, according to estimates by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, between 2015 and 2021, the annual infection rate plunged by more than 70% in the Netherlands, […]

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Tennessee blocked $8 million for HIV, now ends up with $13 million, stunning advocates

In a turnaround that has stunned and pleasantly surprised HIV advocates, Tennessee has gone from blocking $8.3 million in annual federal funds for HIV prevention, surveillance and treatment to including a new allotment of $9 million in the state budget approved Thursday to combat the virus. This development came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Monday that it will circumvent the state government and continue providing about $4 million in HIV-prevention funds to Tennessee nonprofit groups, despite Gov. Bill Lee’s objections. The state has one of the nation’s most poorly controlled HIV epidemics. Lee previously singled […]

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Australia on track to become one of first countries in world to eliminate HIV

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A 10-year study has found that Australia could become one of the first countries to “virtually eliminate” HIV transmissions, with new infections decreasing dramatically.  The findings, published in Lancet HIV, showed that HIV infections decreased by 66 per cent between 2010 and 2019 in New South Wales and Victoria, while there was a 27 per cent rise in people accessing effective HIV treatment.  Increased access to HIV treatment and PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) – the medication that prevents a person from contracting HIV – was cited as a key reason for decreased transmissions.  The journal also endorsed the public health strategy “treatment as […]

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Biden administration appeals judge’s decision that insurance companies don’t have to cover PrEP

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The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) is appealing a judge’s decision to nullify a section of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires insurance companies to cover the HIV prevention drug regimen PrEP.  Last week, U.S. District Juge Reed O’Connor struck down a section of the ACA requiring coverage of certain preventive health care services, which, in addition to PrEP, includes some cancer screenings, contraception, immunizations, and more. O’Connor’s decision leaves over 150 million people vulnerable to the added costs of this care.  A coordinated effort by right-wing media and lawmakers has decimated community-based programs addressing healthcare for LGBTQ+ people in Tennessee O’Connor’s […]

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Another survey with HIV long-term survivors. Have we learned anything new?

On Wednesday, March 22, 2023, the Survivors of HIV Advocating for Research Engagement (SHARE) Board conducted a webinar highlighting the results of their survey “Aging with HIV: What do you need to thrive?” They sought to answer questions such as, “What are the key health-related questions/issues that research should address around HIV and aging?,” “What matters most to people aging with HIV?,” and “What health outcomes are of most relevance to people aging with HIV?” Sadly, the SHARE survey and report revealed nothing new.  Their overall conclusions were that:  It is notable that SHARE meant for the survey not only […]

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