Tag Archives: HIV/AIDS

The BBC reports: The boss of Iceland [supermarket chain] has been forced to apologise and retract a claim that three staff contracted HIV as a result of needle attacks. Richard Walker said he made comments in “error” in a “draft article” about threats of violence against store workers by shoplifters for Mail Online. Politicians and charities had called for him …

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: When San Francisco’s AIDS Legal Referral Panel was founded 40 years ago by a loose collective of gay attorneys desperate to help ill friends and loved ones, the vast majority of their work was crafting wills for young men, in some cases days before they died. Bill Hirsh, executive director of the nonprofit agency for …

The Daily Beast reports: A group of seven activists were arrested for unlawful entry on Monday morning after storming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office to demand the passage of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Capitol Police confirmed to The Daily Beast. The activists—which Health Global Access Project and Housing Works confirmed on Twitter belonged to their groups—chanted “pass …

Gentle readers, today is Madonna’s 65th birthday. Below is a short story that first appeared on JMG on this day in 2006, a date which, as you’ll see, plays a role in the story. Ricky Loved Madonna Twenty years ago today, August 16th 1986, I was a few months into a new job with AMC Theatres, a position that I …

Axios reports: More gay and bisexual men will be able to donate blood beginning Monday as the Red Cross starts implementing a historic rule change approved by federal authorities earlier this year. It helps close the chapter on the Food and Drug Administration’s blood donor restrictions for men who have sex with men, which had been denounced as discriminatory by …

Courthouse News reports: Pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences triumphed over consumers Friday in a closely watched, yearslong class action that claimed the company deliberately manipulated the market in order to profit off of its highly-priced HIV treatment drugs. Closing arguments in a six-week trial wrapped Wednesday, leaving a federal jury to consider weeks of evidence regarding the pharmaceutical giant’s conduct and …

From the George W. Bush Presidential Center: President Museveni shouldn’t sign this violation of the universal human rights of expression and association. It singles out a minority population – the LGBTQ community. While it should be opposed on that basis alone, it also could be exploited to go after any critics or opponents of the government by accusing them of …

Axios reports: A federal judge in Texas ruled Thursday that employers can’t be required to cover specified preventive health care services under the Affordable Care Act. The ruling has major implications for the more than 150 million Americans on employer-sponsored health plans and could put millions on the hook financially for cancer screenings, immunizations, contraception and other high-value services. The …

The Associated Press reports: Gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships will no longer be forced to abstain from sex to donate blood under federal guidelines to be proposed in coming days, ending a vestige of the earliest days of the AIDS crisis. The planned relaxation of restrictions by the Food and Drug Administration follows years of pressure by blood …

NBC News reports: The only HIV vaccine in a late-stage trial has failed, researchers announced Wednesday, dealing a significant blow to the effort to control the global HIV epidemic and adding to a decadeslong roster of failed attempts. Known as Mosaico, the trial was the product of a public-private partnership including the U.S. government and the pharmaceutical giant Janssen. It …

CNN reports: President Joe Biden on Friday presented Sir Elton John with the National Humanities Medal, surprising the music icon following a performance on the South Lawn of the White House. “I’m never flabbergasted, but I’m flabbergasted,” a visibly moved John said, thanking the President and saying that he will “treasure” the honor. Biden said that he and first lady …

The Advocate reports: A federal judge in Texas has ruled partially in favor of plaintiffs that argued that requiring insurance companies to cover medications for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, violates their rights on religious grounds. Jonathan Mitchell, who founded a one-person law firm in 2018 intending to challenge decades-old Supreme Court rulings, brought the case Braidwood Management Inc., vs. …

Gentle readers, today is Madonna’s 64th birthday. Below is a short story that first appeared on JMG on this day in 2006, a date which, as you’ll see, plays a role in the story. Ricky Loved Madonna Twenty years ago today, August 16th 1986, I was a few months into a new job with AMC Theatres, a position that I …

From the United States Postal Service: Today at the White House, the U.S. Postal Service revealed the artwork of a commemorative Forever stamp to celebrate the centennial of former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s birth. The stamp design was unveiled by First Lady Jill Biden; Postmaster General Louis DeJoy; Anne Peterson, niece of Nancy Reagan; and Fred Ryan, chairman of the …

Fierce Pharma reports: The first of the three pharma juggernauts accused by prominent AIDS and gay rights activist Peter Staley of monopolizing the market for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drugs is putting its legal woes to bed. Bristol Myers Squibb will hand over up to $11 million to settle a lawsuit claiming it, Gilead Sciences and Johnson & Johnson used …

Via press release from the FDA: Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the marketing of the first condoms specifically indicated to help reduce transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) during anal intercourse. The condoms, which will be marketed as the One Male Condom, are also indicated as a contraceptive to help reduce the risk of pregnancy and the …

France 24 reports: French researcher Luc Montagnier, who has died at 89, shared the Nobel medicine prize for his vital early discoveries on AIDS, but was later dismissed by the scientific community for his increasingly outlandish theories, notably on Covid-19. Montagnier and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi shared the Nobel in 2008 for their work at the Pasteur Institute in Paris in isolating …

City News Service reports: A UCLA-led team of researchers believe they may have found a way to kill HIV-infected cells inside infected individuals, opening a “new paradigm for a possible HIV cure in the future,” the study’s lead author said Monday. The breakthrough could potentially reduce, if not eliminate, the virus from the currently 38-million people around the world who …

Gentle readers, today is Madonna’s 63rd birthday. Below is a short story that first appeared on JMG on this day in 2006, a date which, as you’ll see, plays a role in the story. Ricky Loved Madonna Twenty years ago today, August 16th 1986, I was a few months into a new job with AMC Theatres, a position that I …

Via press release from the Justice Department: The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement to resolve a claim that Night and Day Dental Inc. discriminated against a woman with HIV in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Night and Day Dental operates nine dental offices throughout North Carolina. This settlement is part of the …