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5 AUGUST 2022 VOLUME 24 ISSUE 31

Media Coverage

  • We Cannot #EndAIDS if We Blindly Depend on the Global North

    If we look back over the past four decades since the first case of HIV was diagnosed, we cannot miss the stark writing on the wall: had the whole world depended only on the rich nations, then we would have miserably failed to deliver antiretroviral therapy to over 28.7 million people. It will also become amply clear how vital remains the central driving force of key affected communities as well as the Global South in making medicines affordable and accessible. Rich nations have spurred health innovations indeed.

    August 5, 2022
    General
    The Nation Thailand

  • US Monkeypox Response Stirs Up Anxious Memories of AIDS Era for Activists

    David France moved to the Big Apple to be a gay rights activist in the summer of 1981, just before a New York Times headline warned of a “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals,” which turned out to be AIDS. The disease soon affected France’s coworker, who said goodbye to him on a Friday and was dead the following Wednesday. France and others who lived through the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 90s feel a similar sense of doom toward the current monkeypox outbreak — and what they see as the US government’s botched response to a disease that again has disproportionally affected gay men.

    August 4, 2022
    General
    Politico

  • People With HIV Still at Higher Risk of Death From COVID-19 in Omicron Wave

    People with HIV remain at higher risk of dying after being admitted to hospital with COVID-19 and have not experienced the same decline in COVID-related mortality as HIV-negative people during the Omicron wave of the pandemic, a research team from the World Health Organization (WHO) reported this week at the 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022).

    August 4, 2022
    General
    aidsmap

  • New Money for HIV Screenings Could Help ‘Remove Barriers,’ Says Reseau Access Network

    It's a long-awaited answer to a call made by community organizations for more than a decade. On Monday, the Canadian government announced it's putting $18 million toward the expansion of HIV screenings in Canada. The announcement came out of the 24th International AIDS Conference in Montreal, which wrapped up on Tuesday. It follows calls put forward by a coalition of HIV organizations for a boost to federal spending on HIV, from $73 million to $100 million annually.

    August 4, 2022
    General
    CBC

  • As Monkeypox Spreads, US Declares a Health Emergency

    The Biden administration on Thursday declared the growing monkeypox outbreak a national health emergency, a rare designation signaling that the virus now represents a significant risk to Americans and setting in motion new measures aimed at containing the threat. The declaration by Xavier Becerra, President Biden’s health secretary, marks just the fifth such national emergency since 2001, and comes as the country remains in a state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic. The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency over the outbreak late last month.

    August 4, 2022
    General
    New York Times

  • The US Monkeypox Response Is Failing Queer Men

    A full month before the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global health emergency, my gay friends in my group texts had already figured out how to get vaccine appointments, what to do if we were exposed, and where to find the best research on risk and vaccine efficacy. These were the same group chats that once contained gossip, lunch orders, and gentle ribbing between friends, but now, we’d also often devote minutes and blocks of text to a virus that we were struggling to find any information about.

    August 4, 2022
    General
    Vox

  • Stemming the HIV Tide Among Africa’s Girls and Women

    Over four thousand new HIV infections are recorded among girls and young women in Sub-Saharan Africa every week. However, an expert believes that access to information about the virus can turn these numbers around. Patricia Machawira, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) ‘s Regional Advisor on Education and Well-being in Eastern and Southern Africa, said services and accurate information could help young girls and women make empowered choices. She was one of the speakers at the 24th International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada.

    August 3, 2022
    General
    Health-E News

  • Four Pivotal Steps Needed to End AIDS in Children by 2030 [VIDEO]

    Here’s a heartbreaking disparity in the AIDS response: Globally, only half (52 percent) of children living with HIV are on lifesaving meds, compared with 76 percent of adults. This means that nearly 1.2 million children and adolescents ages 0 to 19 have untreated HIV. To address this issue, several international AIDS organizations have joined a new effort to provide HIV care and treatment for children. Specifically, they launched the Global Alliance for Ending AIDS in Children by 2030.

    August 3, 2022
    General
    POZ Magazine

  • From AIDS To COVID-19 To Monkeypox: Experts Agree Inequalities Drive Public Health Crises

    As leading members of the HIV/AIDS field from throughout the world met in Montreal for the 24th International AIDS Conference over the past week, discussions of other infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and monkeypox, constantly bubbled near the surface. While these diseases differ in many ways — different viruses, different modes of transmission, different clinical outcomes — a commonality does exist. Human rights issues and basic inequalities drive all three of these ongoing public health emergencies, according to many experts at this meeting.

    August 3, 2022
    General
    Forbes

  • Injectable PrEP Can Only Cost a Little More Than Oral PrEP if It Is To Be Cost-Effective, South African Study Finds

    In the setting of the South African HIV epidemic, long-lasting injectable PrEP using the antiretroviral drug cabotegravir (CAB-LA) cannot cost more than US$15 per injection in conditions of lower coverage, or $9 per injection in conditions of high coverage, if it is to be cost-effective compared to using oral tenofovir disoproxil/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC), the 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022) in Montreal heard this week.

    August 3, 2022
    PrEP
    aidsmap

  • Stronger Monkeypox Response Needed in Both the Global North and Africa

    Some of the world’s leading monkeypox experts and public health officials discussed the global response to the growing outbreak at the 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022) this week in Montreal. But advocates said the world is not doing enough to address the crisis, which is primarily affecting gay and bisexual men.

    August 3, 2022
    General
    aidsmap

  • Lonely People With HIV Are More Likely to Skip Treatment

    People living with HIV who report frequent loneliness are more likely to miss doses of their antiretroviral therapy, thus jeopardizing their health, according to a new study presented at the 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022) in Montreal. The findings underline the importance of social intervention programs to combat isolation among people with HIV to optimize health outcomes, especially in the COVID-19 era.

    August 3, 2022
    General
    POZ Magazine

  • Do Not Let HIV and AIDS Slide Down the Priority List

    Some people were missing from this year’s International AIDS Conference. Held in Montreal in Canada this week, the gathering brings together experts, activists and patients from all over the world, rich and poor alike. It is this mix that has helped bear down on a disease that has killed about 40m people, 650,000 of them in 2021. However, Canada denied visas to some delegates from poor countries, seemingly because it worried that they might fail to go home.

    August 3, 2022
    General
    The Economist

  • Single-Cell Studies Offer New View of How HIV Infections Persist—And Might Be Cured

    Curing HIV infections remains one of the most formidable challenges in biomedicine, in part because cells that hold the viral DNA in their chromosomes persist in the face of powerful drugs and immune responses. A research team has now, for the first time, isolated single cells from these stubborn viral reservoirs and characterized their gene activity, suggesting potential new cure strategies.

    August 3, 2022
    Cure
    Science

  • New Data Suggest PrEP in Pregnancy Is Safe

    New data on oral PrEP use during pregnancy suggest it is not harmful to children’s longer-term development, according to a preliminary analysis presented at the 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022) on Monday. The study looked at the growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants between the ages of two and three whose mothers had used PrEP (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine) during pregnancy and found no differences between them and infants whose mothers had not used PrEP.

    August 3, 2022
    PrEP
    aidsmap

  • The HIV Prevention Drug That Could Save Millions of People – If They Can Afford It

    Someone was blowing a whistle. A crowd with placards surged into the conference room, chanting “PrEP costs pennies, ViiV’s greed kills”. Not an obvious slogan, but everyone in the room knew what it meant. The protesters took over the stage, denouncing “pharma’s greed” at the microphone. On the platform, those whose session had been interrupted smiled, even applauded. “Thank you for your advocacy. Please allow the session to continue,” read prepared slides on the overhead screens.

    August 3, 2022
    PrEP
    The Guardian

  • Despite Setbacks, HIV Can Be Beaten

    It is a tribute to human ingenuity and determination that aids no longer makes headlines. That is because HIV, the virus which causes it, is on the run. According to the latest update by UNAIDS, the UN programme that keeps tabs on such matters, deaths from AIDS-related illnesses have been falling since 2004 and new infections since 1996. Indeed, the fact that the number of people living with the virus (currently about 38m) continues to rise is actually good news.

    August 2, 2022
    General
    The Economist

  • Maryland Health Officials Bracing for Possible Rise in HIV Rates Amid Ongoing Pandemic

    PJ Gouldmann leaves his house only a few times a month. Lonely and isolated, he keeps his distance from friends and family. Without a car, getting to events has become more difficult and expensive. He relies on Zoom calls to fill his calendar. Gouldmann, who said he has lived with HIV for nearly 40 years, has had to take more precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic because living with the condition puts him more at risk of contracting severe illness. Despite these obstacles, he calls himself one of the lucky ones.

    August 2, 2022
    General
    The Baltimore Sun

  • Just Six Injections a Year Can Prevent HIV: Here’s What It Will Take for the World To Afford Them

    An injection every two months of the antiretroviral cabotegravir is the most effective way to prevent HIV that the world has ever seen. Making it affordable will depend, in part, on how many generic manufacturers will invest in producing it — and for that, the world must show the promise of markets: millions of otherwise healthy people who will line up at a pharmacy or clinic for a quick injection every two months.

    August 2, 2022
    PrEP
    aidsmap

  • Biktarvy Effective for HIV Patients Coinfected With Hepatitis B

    At the 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022), Gilead presented trial data finding Biktarvy as a highly effective treatment for people living with HIV, including those coinfected with hepatitis B (HBV). Biktarvy (bictegravir 50 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg tablets, B/F/TAF) is a complete HIV treatment, and the smallest 3-drug integrase strand inhibitor (INSTI)-based single-tablet regimen available.

    August 1, 2022
    Treatment
    Contagion Live

  • Racial Disparities in PrEP Use Are Getting Worse

    Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is not benefitting Americans equally across racial/ethnic groups and regions, and the disparities are worsening over time, according to findings presented at the 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022). The new data are available on the AIDSVu website. While PrEP uptake rose steeply among white Americans in relation to new HIV diagnoses, prescriptions for Black and Latino people aren’t meeting the need. PrEP was less likely to reach people in the South, a cause for alarm as the region has become the epicenter of the American HIV epidemic.

    August 1, 2022
    PrEP
    POZ Magazine

  • Minimal Antibody Response in Imbokodo Compels Change of Course for HIV Vaccine Research

    It is 13 years now since RV144 became the only HIV vaccine ever to produce a (marginally) positive result in a large efficacy trial.

    July 31, 2022
    HIV Vaccine
    aidsmap

  • WHO Publishes New Guidelines on HIV, Hepatitis and STIs for Key Populations

    Today, WHO published new Consolidated guidelines on HIV, viral hepatitis and STI prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations. The guidelines are officially launched at the AIDS 2022 Conference in Montreal, Canada, in a satellite session entitled: Launching new WHO guidelines for key populations: Focus for impact.

    July 30, 2022
    General
    National Tribune

  • Some Parts of the World Saw Increases in HIV Cases

    Competing pandemics, an economic downturn and a war in Ukraine are all contributing to a rise in HIV infections. NPR's Cheryl Corley talks to the deputy executive director of UNAIDS.

    July 30, 2022
    General
    NPR

  • Production Approved of Generic Injectable HIV-Prevention Drug for Sub-Saharan Africa

    Global health agencies say a voluntary licensing agreement has been reached to allow for the generic production of the first and only long-acting injectable HIV-prevention drug. Until recently, Cabotegravir, the HIV-prevention medication, was available only in pill form and had to be taken daily, or in some cases before and after sex. The injectable form can provide two months of continuous protection against HIV infection through a single intramuscular injection.

    July 29, 2022
    PrEP
    Voice of America

  • Africa: Canada - Global AIDS Conference Kicks Off Amid Fury Over Visas

    Philomena Gori had a lot riding on her attendance of the 24th International AIDS Conference, which kicks off in the Canadian city of Montreal on Friday. The biennial event brings together thousands of scientists, politicians, activists and social workers from around the world to find solutions to the HIV epidemic. The 32-year-old, a social worker for people affected by the virus in Cameroon, had taken time off from her current job and spent around $2,000 applying to the conference, securing accommodation and collecting the necessary documents for a visa.

    July 29, 2022
    General
    allAfrica

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