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Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News Archive - February 2021
A lasting stigma: tracing the history of the AIDS crisis
FEBRUARY 28, 2021 - By Alex Levesque - Dismantling decades-long homophobic myths as discrimination persists today
In a world of advanced technology and living conditions, mass death seems like a medieval or outdated narrative. In this sense, the COVID-19 virus came as a shock. However, while today’s generation may view this pandemic as unprecedented, older generations can remember another viral disease: AIDS.
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Orlando Welcomes ‘Out of the Closet’ and AHF to Address Region’s HIV/AIDS Epidemic
ORLANDO, FL- (February 26, 2021) - Grand Opening, Saturday, February 27th
10:00 AM
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will open Orlando’s first Out of the Closet Thrift Store on Saturday, February 27th, with a grand opening celebration starting at 10:00 a.m. rain or shine. Located at 1349 N. Mills Avenue, Orlando, the facility will also house a state-of-the-art AHF Pharmacy and administer confidential free, rapid, one-minute testing for HIV and other STD’s.
Trump's Parting Shot at People With HIV
FEBRUARY 26 2021 - By Brian Hujdich - President Biden must rescind a last-minute Trump rule that could leave people with HIV on the hook for thousands in prescription costs.
Only hours before Donald Trump left the White House, the outgoing administration proposed a sweeping change to Medicare that could limit millions of Americans' access to lifesaving treatments, especially antiretroviral medications used to treat persons living with HIV.
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Virginia joins a movement to change state laws criminalizing HIV exposure
Feb. 26, 2021 - By Samantha Schmidt - At the height of the AIDS epidemic, as fear and misinformation about the disease swept across the country, state legislators passed a flurry of laws that criminalized attempts to knowingly expose people to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
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HIV self-test initiative aims to curb spread of virus in Pennsylvania
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - February 26, 2021 - Stephanie Koons - Two College of Education faculty members, with help from the HIV Prevention & Care Project at the University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Department of Health, have started a website that offers HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) home self-test kits to anyone in Pennsylvania. The intention of this initiative is to offer testing to people who are unaware of their status and do not have access to clinical testing.
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Un vaccin français contre le VIH à l'essai
Feb 26, 2021 - Des chercheurs du VIR, l'Institut de recherche vaccinale, lancent un essai de phase une et recrutent des volontaires pour tester leur vaccin préventif.
French researchers set for HIV vaccine trials using dendritic cells
26/02/2021 - In a world first for vaccines, researchers at France's Vaccine Research Institute have completed experiments that target essential cells for combating HIV/Aids and stimulate dendritic cells, the so-called sentinels of our immune system. Clinical trials are set to begin within weeks.
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'Life was a party before Aids arrived in London'
February 25, 2021 -By Sarah Lee - At the start of the 1980s, gay men in London started to be affected by a mysterious disease.
The first UK death from Aids was in the capital in 1981 - although it was only later this was confirmed to be down to an HIV-related illness. By the end of that same year, more than 100 homosexual men in the US had died as a result of the disease.
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Julia Roberts Presents Dr. Anthony Fauci with amfAR Award: 'There's No One More Deserving'
February 25, 2021 - Dr. Anthony Fauci is being honored with amfAR's Award of Courage at a gala on March 4
Julia Roberts is honoring her "personal hero" Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The Pretty Woman actress will present Fauci with amfAR's Award of Courage at the organization's virtual "A Gala for Our Time" event on March 4. Ahead of the event, PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at Roberts presenting Fauci with the award for his work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Rugby star on living with HIV
25 FEB, 2021 - Gareth Thomas looked straight down the lens of the camera, his voice wavering slightly.
The former Wales rugby union captain announced he was living with HIV — and was committing himself to addressing the stigma that existed around the subject.
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UNAIDS welcomes the United Nations General Assembly decision to hold a high-level meeting on HIV and AIDS in 2021
GENEVA, 25 February 2021 - UNAIDS welcomes the United Nations General Assembly decision for a high-level meeting on HIV and AIDS to take place between 8 and 10 June 2021. The high-level meeting will review the progress made in reducing the impact of HIV since the last United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on HIV and AIDS in 2016 and the General Assembly expects to adopt a new political declaration to guide the future direction of the response. The high-level meeting will take place as the world marks 40 years since the first case of AIDS was reported and 25 years of UNAIDS.
Meet Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Biden's New Weapon Against HIV
FEBRUARY 24 2021 - Neal Broverman - Daskalakis, the CDC’s unconventional director of HIV prevention efforts, enters his new role during the most challenging health crisis in decades.
If Dr. Demetre Daskalakis is harboring anxieties over taking a new national health position in the middle of two global pandemics, it doesn’t show.
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The Future Fight of HIV
February 24, 2021 - Kevin Kunzmann -A talk on optimistic, but pragmatic hopes for HIV cure and vaccine research, led by federal-level experts.
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Russell T Davies lived through the heartbreak of AIDS, but his show about the crisis, ‘It’s a Sin,’ is no ‘morbid drama’
Feb 22, 2021 - Russell T Davies is glad he waited decades to debut a TV show about the AIDS crisis, even though it’s a subject he says he’s been “soaked” in for most of his life.
Immune-Compromised People with HIV, APOE4 Gene May Have a Compounded Risk for Alzheimer’s
WASHINGTON (February 22, 2021) - People living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who have a history of severe immunosuppression and at least one copy of the Alzheimer’s disease-related gene variant APOE4 might see a compounded adverse effect on the circuitry that impacts memory. This could eventually lead to an increased risk for dementia after age 65, according to Georgetown University Medical Center investigators and colleagues.
Know Your Enemy: How to Survive a Pandemic, with Peter Staley
February 22, 2021 - Veteran HIV/AIDS activist Peter Staley discusses the AIDS crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role of his friend Dr. Anthony Fauci in both.
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Study Explores COVID-19’s Impact on Health Care and Wellbeing Among Black and Latino Persons Living With HIV
Feb 22, 2021 - How are individuals adapting to, and coping with, the pandemic's risks?
With the COVID-19 pandemic taking a disproportionate toll on low-income people of color, a research team headed by Marya Gwadz of the Silver School of Social Work at New York University set out to understand the ways the pandemic may put individuals at risk for adverse outcomes, and the ways they successfully adapted to and coped with the emerging pandemic, focused on those from low-socioeconomic status backgrounds who have lived with HIV for a decade or longer.
UH receives $5 million to combat HIV/AIDS epidemic
22-FEB-2021 - Grant from Gilead Sciences, Inc. continues graduate college of social work effort in southern United States
A University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work research center working to eradicate the underlying serious and systemic challenges that contribute to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Southern United States has received $5 million in renewal funding from biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, Inc. to facilitate the continuation of its impactful work.
Injectable Long-Acting PrEP Is Safe, Highly Effective in Cisgender Women
Feb. 19, 2021 - Michael Broder - Injectable long-acting cabotegravir (CAB LA) has been proven safe and highly effective in preventing HIV infection among cisgender women, according to interim results from a major study announced in late January. The findings complement previously established strong results for cabotegravir-based injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in cisgender men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women who have sex men, adding to evidence that injectable PrEP could ultimately have greater real-world efficacy than daily oral PrEP in many populations, thanks to better adherence.
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It's A Sin: "It's important for people to know things have changed"
February 19, 2021 - It’s an unhappy anniversary that comes at a time when we’re preoccupied with a different viral pandemic: 2021 marks 40 years since Aids was first discovered.
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The Berlin Patient Memorial campaign
Feb 19, 2021 - Tim Hoeffgen explains how a new fundraising effort is honoring the life of his partner, Timothy Ray Brown.
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Trump’s final blow to patients with HIV
February 19, 2021 - by Guy Anthony -The day before Donald Trump left the White House, his administration dealt one final, brutal blow to some of America’s most vulnerable patients. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a policy that, if implemented, will put numerous lifesaving drugs off-limits to Medicare recipients.
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Researchers Find Diverse Supportive Partnerships Among Older Gay Men With and Without HIV
WASHINGTON (February 17, 2021) - Recent data reveals that gay men living with HIV report having supportive relationships with family, friends or in informal relationships rather than with primary romantic partners, while gay men who are HIV-negative report having relationships mainly with primary partners. Additionally, gay men living with HIV were more likely to report no primary or secondary supportive partnerships compared to men who are HIV-negative. The analysis was led by researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center.
THE VIRTUAL MEMORIAL FOR TIMOTHY RAY BROWN
Feb 16, 2021 - A recording of the virtual memorial to celebrate Timothy Ray Brown's life and legacy. Recorded on February 16th, 2021, which would have been his 14th "cure' birthday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci wins $1 million Israeli prize for 'speaking truth to power'
Feb 16, 2021 - Jordan Fleguel - Donald Trump and Fauci were often at odds when publicly discussing COVID-19 as Trump repeatedly downplayed the severity of the disease
Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s “explainer-in-chief” throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, received a prestigious Israeli award that comes with a $1 million prize on Monday for “speaking truth to power.”
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How do antibodies evolve to kill HIV-infected cells?
FEBRUARY 15, 2021 - BY R. COLON-THILLET - From the Overbaugh and Matsen labs, Human Biology and Public Health Sciences Division
Effective antibody responses against HIV are rare both during natural infection and after vaccination. As a result, many research groups have focused their efforts on identifying and characterizing rare but potent antibodies in order to design a vaccine that would stimulate their production. One type of potent antibodies against HIV are those that can elicit antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). These antibodies bind to pathogen-derived antigens on the cell surface, where they act as markers and bridges for immune cells that recognize them and kill the infected cell. Despite their importance, the developmental pathways that give rise to HIV-specific ADCC antibodies remain elusive.
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An Exception to the Rule
February 15, 2021 - By Kate Ferguson - Loreen Willenberg may be the first person to be cured of HIV without a bone marrow transplant, but there’s more to this elite controller.
Afew months ago, Loreen Willenberg stood on the cusp of launching the website for her landscape design business. You could say the moment marked a return to her roots. In 2007, Willenberg, now age 66, walked away from her career as a landscaper and dedicated herself full-time to HIV research and advocacy. True, she had taken on this work for deeply personal reasons and found it immensely satisfying. But eventually, the pull of her innate and instinctive passion for working with the earth became too insistent to ignore.
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How Some HIV Controllers Contain the Virus
February 15, 2021 - By Kate Ferguson - A small subset of people living with HIV are able to control viral replication without antiretroviral treatment.
Currently living in Sacramento, Loreen Willenberg, a 66-year-old landscape designer with HIV, is among a group referred to as “elite controllers,” individuals who aren’t on antiretroviral medications, have no symptoms of illness and possess a robust immune system with disease-fighting CD4 and CD8 T-cells that are highly active against HIV. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), elite controllers account for less than 0.5% of people living with HIV.
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Modeling the kinetics of an HIV cure
FEBRUARY 15, 2021 - BY B TRAXINGER - Continual use of antiretrovial therapies successfully suppresses HIV viral load below detection, butcomplete HIV eradication within infected individuals has so far been thwarted by latent reservoirs of long-lived, HIV-infected cells. Therefore, curative strategies are targeted towards eliminating latently infected cells or permanently preventing latent viral reactivation after antiretroviral treatment interruption (ATI). Presently, the only two known cases of true HIV cure have been patients who, during treatment for blood cancers, received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (HPSC) transplants. In these instances, to simultaneously eliminate HIV, the patients received transplanted allogeneic donor CD4+ T cells containing mutation in CCR5, the primary host cell receptor used by HIV for infection. This replacement of endogenous CCR5-sufficent cells with CCR5-defiecient donor cells cured these patients of HIV by interrupting the infection cycle.
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Four HIV+ couples to tie the knot today in Latur
AURANGABAD- Feb 14, 2021 - This Valentine’s Day will mark the beginning of a new chapter in the lives of some HIV+ women and men in Latur
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Living and loving with HIV: a UN Resident Coordinator blog
14 February 2021 - To mark Valentine’s Day, the annual 14 February celebration of love and affection, Gita Sabharwal, UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand, and Patchara Benjarattanaporn, Thailand Country Director for UNAIDS, call for an end to discrimination against people living with HIV, and recognition of the contribution they make to Thai society.
Six years ago, Thitiwatt Sirasjtakorn learned that he was HIV positive, a point in his life when he struggled to understand what this meant and had almost given up on life. However, this is where his story begins.
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Love In Stigma Out 2021
Feb 14, 2021 - International Condom Day is a great reminder to use a condom and get tested! Do you know the most common symptom of STDs? Nothing. You can have an STD and give it to your partner without experiencing ANY symptoms. That's why routine testing is vital to your good health.
A Valentine reminder that people with HIV deserve love
13 FEB 2021 - Good health care not same as ending stigma
Six years ago, Pete learned that he was HIV positive, a point in his life when he struggled to understand what this meant and had almost given up on life. However, this is where his story begins. Pete managed to overcome the stigma and discrimination and decided to publicly disclose his HIV-positive status on social media and educate people about HIV from his experiences, becoming today an influential voice in Thailand.
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"When You Wear a Condom" Parody (When You're Good to Mama) - International Condom Day 2021
Feb 13, 2021 - This Valentine’s Day, CANFAR National Ambassadors are acknowledging love in the time of COVID-19. For many Canadians, our practice of love has monumentally changed. Connecting with family, friends, loved ones and our communities brings an irreplaceable feeling. This past year has brought challenges when it comes to expressing our love, but there is hope at the end of the tunnel. Join our CANFAR community in showing others how much they mean to us this Valentine’s Day.
People living with HIV in Kyrgyzstan have won the right to adopt
12 FEBRUARY 2021 - At the end of January 2021, the Kyrgyzstan Constitutional Court decided to exclude HIV from the list of diseases that prevent people from adopting children or becoming guardians or foster parents. The barrier to parenting for people living with HIV in the country had been in effect for many years.
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New study gives hope of eliminating mother-to-baby transmission of HIV
February 12, 2021 - Anti-retroviral drugs are a vital tool in the prevention and treatment of HIV. A new study of pregnant women in Tanzania shows that life-long antiviral treatment also seems to prevent viral transmission from mother to baby. The results of the study, which was conducted in part by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in Lancet HIV, make a promising contribution to the WHO’s work with HIV prevention in low and middle-income countries.
Support Is Part of Living Well with HIV
February 12, 2021 - Community: It’s a Wonderful World
Support Is Part of Living Well with HIV
by John Francis Leonard
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AHF Presents International Condom Day: A Celebration of Safer Sex
February 11, 2021 - LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AHF Presents Burlesque: A Celebration of Safer Sex. Sat, Feb 13, 2021- 5 pm PST/ 8 pm EST
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest, non-profit HIV/AIDS organization in the world, operating in 45 countries and 16 states domestically (including DC & Puerto Rico), again celebrates International Condom Day (ICD) on February 13th. AHF will continue the theme ‘Safer is Sexy’ with this year’s ICD celebration including a virtual premiere of a sexy and seductive burlesque show starring comedian Flame Monroe. Best known for her Netflix debut of “Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready,” Monroe is set to lead viewers through an experience of laughter and entertainment, all while reinforcing a strong educational message of the importance of safe sex and condom usage. ICD themed events will be taking place both virtually and in person, in various countries across the globe. AHF, which now has over 1.5 million lives in care, will provide and distribute safely over 1 million free condoms in recognition of this significant holiday.
NBCARES SILVER LININGS: “DAP” HEALTH THE REASON BEHIND THE NEW DESERT AIDS PROJECT BRAND
February 10, 2021 - by Sandie Newton - After almost 4 decades of healthcare service in the Coachella Valley Desert AIDS Project is changing with the times. They are rebranding as “DAP Health.” Steven Henkie shares how exciting and inclusive the pivoting process was with Sandie Newton in this Silver Linings.
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HIV research yields potential drug target
February 10, 2021 - Humans possess a formidable multi-layered defense system that protects us against viral infections. Better understanding of these defenses and the tricks that viruses use to evade them could open novel avenues for treating viral infections and possibly other diseases.
 
Timothy Ray Brown “The Berlin Patient” Memorial Campaign and Community Consortium Announced
San Francisco & Palm Springs, Feb. 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Campaign Aims to Raise Awareness and Funds to Establish Memorials in San Francisco and Palm Springs
A consortium HIV/AIDS organizations have launched the Timothy Ray Brown “The Berlin Patient” Memorial Campaign (TRB Memorial Campaign), a community effort to memorialize Brown’s journey and life. The consortium will raise funds for a memorial boulder with a touching inscription in the National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco and a memorial bench and plaque in Wellness Park adjacent to the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.
How a hit TV show exposed the failure to learn the lessons of the past on Covid-19
London (CNN) February 10, 2021 - A man lies alone in a hospital bed, frightened and cut off from most of his family and friends, while the outside world grapples with the growing threat of an unfamiliar virus. As he lies stricken, he is cared for by doctors and nurses dressed head to toe in PPE. Eventually he begs for his mother to make him better and asks her through tears if everyone who has contracted this disease has died.
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Dr. Fauci Moves to Cure AIDS
London (CNN) February 10, 2021 - By Kambiz Shekdar, Ph.D. - One year before the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Fauci attempted to direct the research prowess of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) toward curing what is still a largely incurable and festering global disease, HIV/AIDS, but with the explosion of COVID-19 that momentum was stopped abruptly. While right now the world is racing to inject vaccines to defeat the COVID killer, Dr. Fauci has renewed the $200 million call to find a cure for HIV/AIDS.
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How 'It's A Sin' is Breaking the Stigma Around HIV | This Morning
Feb 9, 2021 - It’s the Channel 4 drama which has broken viewing records, and received rave reviews, but now ‘It’s A Sin’ has reignited the discussion about HIV prevention. Since the series launched, there has been a huge uptake in HIV testing. Dr Ranj joins us today to tell us more about this treatable condition.
Real-World Evidence Study at Miami CFAR Suggests HIV-Associated Wasting Remains an Underappreciated Comorbidity
ROCKLAND, Mass., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - First retrospective, real-world evidence study on HIV-associated wasting in more than ten years suggests the condition remains a comorbidity despite modern antiretroviral therapy (ART)
- 18.3% of HIV+ patients in the study (2012-2018) were identified as having HIV-associated wasting (HIVAW)
EMD Serono, the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in the US and Canada, presented retrospective HIV-associated wasting (HIVAW) prevalence and comorbidity data today from a claims database analysis at the Miami Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Conference on HIV and Aging in the Era of ART and COVID-19.
Universal access to preventive drugs could reduce HIV incidence in sub-Saharan Africa
9-FEB-2021 - Universal HIV testing with linkage to treatment and prevention may be a promising approach to accelerate reductions in new infections in generalized epidemic settings, according to a study published February 9th, 2021 in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Catherine Koss of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues.
In Memoriam: Ken Jones
Ken Jones, 1951–2021
On January 13, 2021, legendary LGBTQ activist Ken Jones died after a long battle with liver cancer. He was seventy years old.
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Dr. Fauci Visited Bathhouses for HIV/AIDS Research
February 9, 2021 - By Tat Bellamy-Walker - Dr. Anthony Fauci revealed in a new NPR interview that long before the coronavirus hit the US, he visited gay bathhouses to gather insight into the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
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Ugandan HIV/AIDS activist wins international award
February 9, 2021 | Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | The Omololu Falobi award goes to individuals who have shown leadership in research advocacy and inspired others
Winifred Ikilai from the National Forum of People Living with HIV/AIDS Networks in Uganda (NAFOPHANU) was declared winner of the 2021 Omololu Falobi Award for Excellence in HIV Prevention Research Community Advocacy at the just concluded HIV Research for Prevention Conference which was organised virtually this year.
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HIV: an innovative therapeutic advance to optimize the immune system
February 8, 2021 | Audrey-Maude Vézina - Driven by the need to improve conventional treatments for people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), doctoral student Hamza Loucif and professor Julien van Grevenynghe have discovered a therapeutic pathway to restore efficacy of their immune cells.
To control the infection, the majority of people with HIV-1 need to take antiretroviral therapy daily. These drugs cause significant side effects without fully restoring their immune system to function. However, a certain group of patients, called the “elite controllers”, are able to coexist with the infection without any drug intervention.
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The Future of HIV Treatment and Prevention Is Coming, and It’s Spelled bNAb
Feb. 8, 2021 - Michael Broder - In the early days of HIV science, experts believed that the human immune system was largely incapable of creating naturally occurring antibodies that could neutralize HIV. Flash forward a few decades, and a growing collection of promising research is making a case that these broadly neutralizing antibodies, or bNAbs, may be the key to the next revolution in HIV treatment and prevention.
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African studies explore reasons to start, stick with or stop PrEP
8 February 2021 - Gus Cairns - This year's HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) virtual conference featured a large number of sessions examining PrEP usage and discontinuation rates among a variety of users, especially in Africa.
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HIV Criminalization is a Racial Justice Issue
FEBRUARY 7, 2021 - In 2015, Michael Johnson, a Black gay college athlete, was sentenced to 30.5 years in prison under Missouri’s HIV criminal law. Missouri’s law, like the one in my home state of Georgia, does not require intent to transmit or actual transmission of HIV. It only requires that a person be aware of their HIV positive status and are unable to prove that they disclosed their status prior to engaging in a sexual act.
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National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day reminds us of the deep costs of inequality
Feb. 7, 2021 - By Dan Royles - Diseases don’t hit Americans equally
Feb. 7 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, an annual event that promotes the testing, treatment and prevention of a disease that disproportionately affects Black communities in the United States. African Americans make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, but 43 percent of new HIV diagnoses overall. Black women account for an estimated 6 in 10 new HIV diagnoses among women in the United States. If current trends hold, 1 in 2 Black American men who have sex with men, including self-identified gay and bisexual men, will become HIV positive in their lifetimes.
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Loss, shame and love: How the AIDS epidemic affected Liverpool
7 FEB 2021 - By Kieren Williams - From attending funerals every week to creating a model to fight back against the disease, this is the story of the AIDS epidemic in Liverpool
It was described as a “death sentence”.
Again and again, those who spoke to the Liverpool ECHO described the disease, which had taken friends and loved ones, as a “death sentence.”
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Thatcher 'neurotic' about becoming too associated with AIDS
7th February 2021 - By Caroline Wilson - Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was neurotic about become too associated with AIDS during the early health campaign, her former health secretary has said.
Lord Norman Fowler said that while Thatcher was empathetic to those who had the disease and had a good appreciation of the science, she had “no great sympathy for the subject… I don’t think AIDS actually appears in her autobiography.”
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Harnessing the Power of Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
FEBRUARY 07 2021 - By Stephen S. Tang, Ph.D. and Giffin Daughtridge, M.D. - Disruptive innovation is key to ending HIV-related health disparities for Black Americans.
Sunday, February 7, National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), is a day to highlight the disproportionate impact of HIV on Black communities, to celebrate the work of Black HIV advocates, and to support Black people living with HIV in America. We also celebrate the efforts of our local and federal partners, the HIV workforce, and community advocates who have made monumental strides in reducing new HIV infections and continue to champion the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative, which aims to reduce new HIV infections nationally by 75 percent in the next five years.
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AIDS Treatment News - full archive, 1986-2007 (restored February 9, 2021)
February 6, 2021 - When we published AIDS Treatment News we didn't keep all the back issues online, as other organizations were doing that. But now most of the online copies have gone away (understandably since the AIDS information is obsolete), so we uploaded our copies for archival purposes.
Bare Chest Calendar Men show a little skin for a good cause
Feb 6, 2021 - by David-Elijah Nahmod - It's been a rough year for many. Housing, food and medical needs are but some of the issues many people are facing as the pandemic continues to devastate the economy. PRC is dedicated to helping HIV positive people, homeless people, low income or no income, and disabled San Franciscans weather the pandemic, though the organization has been doing its work long before the COVID-19 era began and will continue long after the pandemic is behind us. The annual Bare Chest Calendar has become one of the ways that PRC funds its work.
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15th Annual HIV Symposium: The Path to Ending the HIV Epidemic
Wednesday, February 10, 2021 9:30am to 1:00pm
The Miami Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), the HIV/AIDS and Emerging Infectious Diseases Institute (HEIDI) and the Center for HIV and Research in Mental Health (CHARM) have partnered to host the 15th Annual HIV Symposium: The Path to Ending the HIV Epidemic. The symposium will take place over two mornings: Wednesday, February 10, 2021, 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM and Thursday, February 11, 2021, 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM.
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RBCM@Home BC's Black Pioneers
February 9, 2021
12:00 pm to 12:30 pm Royal BC Museum
Register in advance for this webinar
Every February, Canadians are invited to participate in Black History Month festivities and events that honour the legacy of Black Canadians, past and present. Join us for a conversation with Fran Morrison from the BC Black History Awareness Society about BC's Black pioneers.
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PrEP vaginal ring set for rollout after WHO endorsement
05 February 2021 - Significant step as WHO recommends the dapivirine vaginal ring as a new HIV prevention tool following promising trial results.
Last week (26 January), the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the dapivirine vaginal ring as a new HIV prevention tool for women at heightened risk of HIV, as part of a package of other prevention tools.
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Gay Pioneer Lee Mentley dies- The gay activist facilitated creation of the Rainbow Flag
February 4, 2021 - Gay pioneer Lee Mentley ended his often snarky emails with “HRH Lee Mentley Your very own…, old, miserable, cranky, S.O.B…!” The insightful self-reflection brought a smile to readers who knew the longtime gay movement pioneer as a lovable, astute and kind curmudgeon who participated in and facilitated the San Francisco art scene that created the iconic Rainbow Flag.
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Increased Risk for Cardiovascular Disease in People Living With HIV
February 4, 20211 - by Karen Ocamb - Individuals living with HIV, particularly those with comorbid kidney disease, were found to be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.
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HIV organizations announce Racial Justice Index to remedy disconnect between HIV leadership and community impact
FEB 04 2021 - Leading up to National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, AIDS United and its Public Policy Council, composed of 55 of the nation's leading organizations dedicated to ending HIV, are announcing they have launched the Racial Justice Index. AIDS United is working collaboratively with the Black AIDS Institute, a Public Policy Council member, to guide this work. After the summer of 2020 that ushered in a racial reckoning in America, this novel initiative aims to create awareness — and eventually sustainable change — around the misalignment between who holds power and resources in HIV organizations and the epidemic’s disproportionate impact on Black Americans.
HIV/AIDS researcher David Katzenstein dies
FEB 4 2021 - The Stanford virologist conducted clinical vaccine trials, which led to the approval of antiretroviral drugs, greatly improving the survival of people living with HIV
David Katzenstein, MD, professor emeritus of infectious diseases and global health at Stanford Medicine, who spurred advances in diagnosing, treating and preventing AIDS, died Jan. 25 of COVID-19 in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was 69.
The Everest Foundation Awards Project Angel Food with $55,000 Grant for Telephone Angels Program
LOS ANGELES, CA – (February 4, 2021) - The donation sponsors a new telephone “buddy” program to helps clients feel less isolated
The Everest Foundation (“EF”), a non-profit 501(c)(3) that focuses on the advancement of medical research on a national level, announced today that it is teaming up with Project Angel Food to sponsor its newest initiative – The Everest Foundation Telephone Angels Program, with a $55,000 donation.
YLE: HIV prevention method PrEP to become free in Finland in July
04 FEBRUARY 2021 - PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS (PrEP), a drug taken daily to prevent getting HIV, will become free of charge in Finland on 1 July 2021, reports YLE.
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New study examines addiction medicine treatment in Vietnam
February 04, 2021 By Erik Robinson - OHSU lead author finds lessons to apply in rural counties across Oregon
An assessment published this week in the journal Lancet HIV provides new insight about an initiative to integrate treatment of opioid use disorder along with HIV in Vietnam.
Clients of female sex workers should be targeted for HIV prevention and treatment in South Africa
4 February 2021 - The unmet HIV prevention and treatment needs of female sex workers and especially their male clients could contribute substantially to ongoing HIV transmission in South Africa, according to a new study led by University of Bristol researchers.
The researchers used mathematical modelling to look at the contribution of commercial sex, sex between men, and other heterosexual partnerships to HIV transmission in South Africa.
Human immune cells have natural alarm system against HIV
February 4, 2021 - by Julia Evangelou Strait - Drugs that trigger alarm could lead to new HIV therapies
Treatment for HIV has improved tremendously over the past 30 years; once a death sentence, the disease is now a manageable lifelong condition in many parts of the world. Life expectancy is about the same as that of individuals without HIV, though patients must adhere to a strict regimen of daily antiretroviral therapy, or the virus will come out of hiding and reactivate. Antiretroviral therapy prevents existing virus from replicating, but it can’t eliminate the infection. Many ongoing clinical trials are investigating possible ways to clear HIV infection.
Timothy Ray Brown
Virtual Memorial Service
February 16, 2021 at 9am PT/Noon Eastern/
6 pm Europe.
This day is Tim’s cure birthday.
There will be a virtual memorial service for Timothy Ray Brown, the first person to be cured of HIV, on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at 9am PT/Noon Eastern/ 6 pm Europe.
National AIDS Memorial Observes Black History Month with AIDS Memorial Quilt Virtual Exhibition Honoring Black Lives Lost to AIDS
San Francisco, Feb. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Specially curated exhibition features 56 blocks of the Quilt that memorialize loved ones lost to AIDS, sharing stories and raising awareness about HIV today, particularly among communities of color
During Black History Month, the National AIDS Memorial honors Black lives lost to AIDS with a specially curated selection of 56 blocks of the AIDS Memorial Quilt (the Quilt). The exhibition uses the beauty and power of the Quilt to bring to light stories of the countless men, women and children who have died, and the impact AIDS has had on Black Americans.
Canadian traces origin of AIDS to starving First World War soldier who hunted chimpanzees
Feb 04, 2021 - In 1916, in Cameroon, 'a chimpanzee was killed and when cutting the animal to bring it back, there was an injury which got infected,' the researcher saysThe Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill on Jan. 27 that would decriminalize HIV transmission in the state.
A Canadian professor who has been studying the origin of HIV for decades says he has identified a new “Patient Zero” — a starving First World War soldier stationed in Cameroon who was forced to hunt apes to survive.
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HRC and Gilead Work Together to Combat HIV Epidemic and Promote Transgender Justice
Feb 3, 2021 - Gilead Sciences, Inc. and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, today announced that Gilead will provide a $3.2 million grant over two years to support communities disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic in the United States, particularly communities of color. Gilead will directly fund the efforts of the HRC Foundation – HRC’s educational arm – aimed at ending the HIV epidemic, as well as fund the organization’s Transgender Justice Initiative.
First-in-human clinical trial confirms novel HIV vaccine approach developed by IAVI and Scripps Research
February 03, 2021 - NEW YORK and LA JOLLA, CA - The experimental vaccine primed the immune system as the first stage in the production of broadly neutralizing antibodies.
A phase 1 clinical trial testing a novel vaccine approach to prevent HIV has produced promising results, IAVI and Scripps Research announced today. The vaccine showed success in stimulating production of rare immune cells needed to start the process of generating antibodies against the fast-mutating virus; the targeted response was detected in 97 percent of participants who received the vaccine.
Joseph Sonnabend, Brilliant Early AIDS Doctor, Would Treat Patients for Free
Feb. 3, 2021 - When it comes to legendary HIV/AIDS doctors, there are the big celebrated names, like Anthony Fauci, M.D., David Ho, M.D., and Mathilde Krim, Ph.D. And then there’s Joseph Sonnabend, M.D., a gay South African who left medical research work in London in the 1970s to treat sexually transmitted diseases in New York City gay men. He ended up becoming one of the city’s most important early treaters of AIDS, someone whose unusual linking of research and primary care led to the prolongation of many lives as well as the start of two important organizations, amfAR and ACRIA.
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The Aids angel: how Ruth Coker Burks comforted dying gay men
3 Feb 2021 - In the 80s, a young mother with no medical training or resources looked after scores of ostracised patients – and the Ku Klux Klan burned crosses on her lawn. Now she is paying tribute to the lost
Ruth Coker Burks has never been an obedient person. When she was visiting a friend in hospital and noticed a nearby door covered in red tarpaulin, the word “biohazard” stamped across it, she lingered. She watched the nurses draw straws, or toothpicks, to decide who would enter the room; then she watched them all walk away. In that moment, she knew: “I was going in there.”
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UNAIDS welcomes the United States of America’s decision to support women’s health, safety and rights
GENEVA, 3 February 2021 - UNAIDS warmly welcomes the announcement by the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, that he has rescinded the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy (PLGHA, previously known as the Mexico City Policy). The policy required foreign nongovernmental organizations to certify that they would not perform or actively promote abortion using funds from any source (including non-United States funds) as a condition of receiving United States Government funding.
The Buenos Aires patient: Argentinian woman controls HIV for at least 12 years after stopping treatment
3 February 2021 - Keith Alcorn - An Argentinian woman, now in her 50s, has controlled HIV below the limits of detection since stopping HIV treatment due to side-effects in 2007, researchers from Buenos Aires and the US National Institutes of Health report.
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GLAAD, THE ROOT, THE GRIO CONFIRMED AS MEDIA PARTNERS FOR FILMED DRAMATIC READING OF “ALL BOYS AREN’T BLUE”
February 2, 2021 - LOS ANGELES -The media powerhouses join on as partners for the all-star virtual reading event of George M. Johnson’s bestselling memoir
Media powerhouses, GLAAD, The Root and The Grio, will serve as the official media partners for the filmed reading of George Matthew Johnson’s Amazon Best-Book of the Year 2020 and critically-acclaimed novel, All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto. The short film, which is directed, adapted and produced by Nathan Hale Williams is a filmed dramatic reading of three chapters of the book performed by Jenifer Lewis (“Black-ish”), Dyllón Burnside (“Pose”), Bernard David Jones (“The Mayor”) and Thomas Hobson (“Sherman’s Showcase”). The event will be held on Monday, February 8 AT 5:00PM PST / 8:00PM EST.
Bottoms Are Up at the HIV Research for Prevention Virtual Conference
PITTSBURGH, 2 February, 2021 - Rectal microbicide gels well-tolerated, with dosing changes necessary for HIV protection
Researchers seeking to develop on-demand and behaviorally congruent HIV prevention options for people who practice anal sex are reporting the results of three early phase clinical trials of rectal microbicides at this week’s HIV Research for Prevention (HIV R4P) Virtual Conference. The Phase I studies, led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded MicrobicideTrials Network (MTN), found both of two gel-based products well-tolerated, with higher doses of the active drugs likely required to provide protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The results are being presented at the oral abstract session, Bottoms Up: New insights about rectal infections and HIV/STI prevention, on Wednesday, Feb. 3.
Products to prevent both pregnancy and HIV begin to emerge
2 February 2021 - Keith Alcorn - Preventing unwanted pregnancy and HIV infection by using one product could be a reality one day. Early research on several products presented last week at the virtual HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) conference showed that they are safe and that potential users are attracted by the idea of a two-in-one prevention method.
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‘Déjà vu’: HIV-positive Pittsburghers say we have much to learn about COVID by comparing it to our other deadly epidemic
February 2, 2021 - By OLIVER MORRISON - When stay-at-home orders for the coronavirus were announced in March, some Pittsburghers who have lived with HIV for decades felt what they described as post-traumatic stress from the first epidemic they lived through.
Study uncovers long-term harm of interpersonal violence on the health of HIV-positive people
2 February 2021 - The effect of HIV treatment (ART) is so transformative that scientists increasingly expect that many ART users will have near-normal life expectancy. However, there are factors that can undermine a person’s ability to take ART exactly as prescribed, maintain regular clinic and laboratory visits, and engage in healthy behaviours. One of these factors is mental health. A person’s mental health can be affected by biological, social and structural factors as well as past or current events that cause psychological distress and trauma.
 
Gilead Sciences and Gritstone Announce Collaboration Utilizing Gritstone’s Vaccine Platform Technology for HIV Cure
February 01, 2021 - FOSTER CITY, Calif. & EMERYVILLE, Calif. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) and Gritstone Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRTS), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next generation cancer and infectious disease immunotherapies, today announced that the companies have entered into a collaboration, option and license agreement to research and develop a vaccine-based immunotherapy as part of Gilead’s efforts to find a curative treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
ATCC Announces Award of HIV Reagent Program
Manassas, VA, February 1, 2021 - ATCC joins National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ team working on preclinical services for HIV therapeutics
ATCC, the world’s premier biological materials management and standards organization, today announced that it has been awarded a three-year, $9.86 million task order contract by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to manage and operate its HIV Reagent Program, formerly known as the AIDS Reagent Program. ATCC is tasked to supply the HIV/AIDS research community with no-cost, high-quality materials supporting the development and evaluation of therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics.
All Boys Aren't Blue YouTube Video Promo #1 Trailer
Feb 1, 2021 - The Black Leadership AIDS Crisis Coalition (BLACC) powered by AHF in partnership with iN-Hale Entertainment & All Tea, No Shade Productions present the filmed dramatic reading of "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson and Directed, Produced & Adapted by Nathan Hale Williams in support of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day with the theme of “Stigma Gotta Go.”
Va. Senate committee approves HIV decriminalization bill
February 1, 2021 - by Philip Van Slooten - The Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill on Jan. 27 that would decriminalize HIV transmission in the state.
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US Calls for Release of Venezuelan HIV/AIDS Service Providers
01 February 2021 - Michael Broder - (WB) The U.S. has joined the growing calls for the Venezuelan government to release five HIV/AIDS service providers who were arrested on Jan. 12.
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