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Pain Doesn’t Belong on a Scale of Zero to 10
Over the past two years, a simple but baffling request has preceded most of my encounters with medical professionals: “Rate your pain on a scale of zero to 10.”. I trained as a physician and have asked patients the very same question thousands of times, so I think hard about how to quantify the sum of the sore hips, the prickly thighs, and the numbing, itchy pain near my left shoulder blade. I pause and then, mostly arbitrarily, choose a number. “Three or four?” I venture, knowing the real answer is long, complicated, and not measurable in this one-dimensional way.
New UNAIDS Report Shows AIDS Pandemic Can Be Ended by 2030, But Only if Leaders Boost Resources and Protect Human Rights Now
A new report released today by UNAIDS shows that the world is at a critical moment that will determine whether world leaders meet their commitment to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. The report, The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads, brings together new data and case studies which demonstrate that the decisions and policy choices taken by world leaders this year will decide the fate of millions of lives and whether the world’s deadliest pandemic is overcome.
Stigma, Criminalization and Under-Investment Are Driving Worrying Rises in New HIV Infections in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
A new United Nations report released today shows that the HIV response in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is critically off track. Data in UNAIDS’ global report The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads reveals that in this region, new HIV infections have risen by 20% and AIDS-related deaths have risen by 34%, since 2010. Only half of the 2.1 million people living with HIV in the region are accessing treatment, and only 42% of all people living with HIV in the region have suppressed viral load, the lowest rate globally. The report shows that it is still possible to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, but only if governments reform laws to protect everyone’s human rights and increase resources to ensure services are available for all.
Hepatitis C Treatment Increased as State Medicaid Programs Eased Restrictions
As state Medicaid programs eased or eliminated restrictions on access to antiviral treatment for hepatitis C, the number of prescriptions significantly increased every quarter from 2015 through 2019, according to study findings published in JAMA Health Forum. “The results of this study suggest that Medicaid coverage restrictions were associated with...
Zero HIV Stigma Day 2024
Sunday, July 21, marks the second annual Zero HIV Stigma Day. It’s a global effort to address the prevalence of stigma and to spark discussions on how to end HIV stigma in all its forms. This year’s theme is “Beyond Labels: Redefining HIV Narratives.”. Zero HIV Stigma...
Mississippi Lacks Black Doctors, Even as Lawmakers Increasingly Target Diversity Programs
Jerrian Reedy was 9 when his father was admitted to the hospital in Hattiesburg, about two hours northeast of New Orleans, after sustaining three gunshot wounds. Reedy recalled visiting his dad in the intensive care unit that summer in 2009, even though children weren’t typically permitted in that part of the hospital.
For Healthy Adults, Taking Multivitamins Daily Is Not Associated With a Lower Risk Of Death
A large analysis of data from nearly 400,000 healthy U.S. adults followed for more than 20 years has found no association between regular multivitamin use and lower risk of death. The study, led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, was published June 26, 2024, in...
HIV Data Leaked Following Florida Health Department Hack
Hackers this week leaked over 20,000 Florida Department of Health (DOH) files containing sensitive personal information, including HIV test results, immunization records and more, according to The Tampa Bay Times. The hacker group RansomHub targeted DOH, which is said to be working with law enforcement and taking additional action to...
First-of-its-kind HIV Cure Case Among Scientific Highlights at AIDS 2024
A unique HIV cure case will be among the scientific highlights of AIDS 2024, the 25th International AIDS Conference, which will take place in Munich, Germany and virtually from 22 to 26 July. For the first time, scientists will share information about the “next Berlin Patient”, who appears to be...
Criminalized Lives
For more than 10 years, activist and criminologist Alexander McClelland has been interviewing people who have been charged and convicted in HIV-related cases. The result of this work is Criminalized Lives: HIV and Legal Violence (Rutgers University Press, 2024). The book includes a foreword by Robert Suttle, a leading voice within the HIV decriminalization movement, who was charged and convicted under HIV laws in Louisiana as well as illustrations by artist Eric Kostiuk Williams.
The Next Berlin Patient: Another Man Cured of HIV After Stem Cell Transplant
[Editor’s note: This case was presented at a July 18 press briefing in advance of the International AIDS Conference next week. POZ will update this report, if needed, after the full data are presented on July 24.]. A seventh person appears to be cured of HIV after a stem...
U.S. Surgeon General Declares Gun Violence “a Public Health Crisis”
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared firearm violence a public health crisis, as gun deaths and injuries punctuate daily life in America. On nearly every day of 2024 so far, a burst of gunfire has hit at least four people somewhere in the country. Some days, communities have endured four or five such shootings.
First Anal Cancer Screening Guidelines for People With HIV
For the first time, updated national guidelines for the management of opportunistic infections now include recommendations on anal cancer prevention for people living with HIV. According to the new guidelines, older HIV-positive adults should be regularly assessed for signs of anal cancer, and those with symptoms or abnormalities should receive more intensive screening.
5 Cases of Bird Flu Reported in Colorado Poultry Workers, Doubling This Year’s US Tally
Five people who work at a poultry farm in northeastern Colorado have tested positive for the bird flu, the Colorado public health department reported July 14. This brings the known number of U.S. cases to nine. The five people were likely infected by chickens, which they had been tasked with...
Finland Is Offering Farmworkers Bird Flu Shots. Some Experts Say the US Should, Too.
As bird flu spreads among dairy cattle in the U.S., veterinarians and researchers have taken note of Finland’s move to vaccinate farmworkers at risk of infection. They wonder why their government doesn’t do the same. “Farmworkers, veterinarians, and producers are handling large volumes of milk that can contain...
Older Women Are Different Than Older Men. Their Health Is Woefully Understudied.
Medical research has shortchanged women for decades. This is particularly true of older women, leaving physicians without critically important information about how to best manage their health. Late last year, the Biden administration promised to address this problem with a new effort called the White House Initiative on Women’s Health...
Debuting the National Latinx Older Adults & HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
When it comes to HIV treatment and prevention, older Latino Americans face unique needs. To address these challenges, the Latino Commission on AIDS is launching the National Latinx Older Adults & HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The day will be marked each July 16. This year’s debut, on Tuesday, kicks off with...
Getting Comfortable With Long-Acting Injectables
Lamar McMullen of Miami is positively evangelical about long-acting injectables for HIV treatment. Currently, only one such medication is approved for injection every other month; others in the pipeline are intended to last even longer. Since giving up his once-a-day pill for a long-acting injectable, McMullen has been pleased with the results.
Conversation Builds Health Care Relationships
Both long-term survivors and those newly diagnosed with HIV have plenty of treatment options to choose from to keep the virus suppressed. In addition to keeping you healthy, having an undetectable viral load prevents you from transmitting the virus via sex. Also, for most folks, current HIV medications cause virtually no side effects. Medications now range from once-daily all-in-one pills to long-acting injectables.
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