Tag Archives: HIV/AIDS

HIV Surging Among Gotham’s Young

From the NY Times: The number of new H.I.V. infections in men under 30 who have sex with men has increased sharply in New York City in the last five years, particularly among blacks and Hispanics, even as AIDS deaths and overall H.I.V. infection rates in the city have steadily declined. New figures from the city’s Department of Health and …

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Huckabee On Larry King: Takes On AIDS Comment, DADT, Creationism

Huckabee’s comment on AIDS and DADT start about four minutes into the clip. Huckabee agreed to meet Ryan White’s mother last week, but so far she hasn’t heard from him. In the next segment of the show, Huckabee shillster Chuck Norris chimes in. (Via – HRC Back Story.)

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Dems And Lambda Legal
Protest New HIV Travel Rules

More than two dozen Democrats in the House have sent Homeland Security a letter protesting the proposed new travel rules for HIV+ foreigners. The letter says that the so-called “streamlining” of the process of allowing HIV+ individuals to enter the United States places the burden of the decision on those lacking the necessary medical expertise. The letter goes on to …

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Ryan White’s Mom Angry With Huckabee

The Human Rights Campaign is trying to engineer a meeting between Mike Huckabee and Jeanne White-Ginder, mother of Ryan White, the Indiana teenager whose battle with AIDS in the 80’s riveted the nation and made Ryan a darling of AIDS activists such as Elton John. White-Ginder says Huckabee’s recent comments about AIDS have infuriated her and that “We have to …

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“Godfather Of Disco”, Mel Cheren Has Died

Clubland was rocked this weekend by the news that Mel Cheren, the “Godfather Of Disco”, has died from complications of AIDS. Cheren provided the financial backing to open legendary gay nightclub the Paradise Garage, and founded seminal dance music label West End Records. Earlier this year, Cheren’s biography, My Life and the Paradise Garage: Keep On Dancin’, was turned into …

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Huckabee: I Still Believe PWAs Should Be Isolated

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee yesterday refused to recant his 1992 call for AIDS patients to be quarantined, saying “I still believe this today, that we were acting more out of political correctness. I don’t run from it, I don’t recant it.” In 1992, Huckabee said, “It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers …

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Annie Lennox Sings For World AIDS Day

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UN To Reduce AIDS Count By Six Million

Saying they have overstated the reach of the AIDS pandemic, the United Nations’ AIDS agency will release a report today reducing their count of total AIDS cases worldwide by six million, to 33.2 million. The statistical changes reflect more accurate surveys, particularly in India and some populous African countries. Some epidemiologists have criticized for years the way estimates were made, …

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U.S To HIV+: Stay Out

The government has proposed new rules which will make it even harder for HIV+ persons to enter the country, according to Gay Men’s Health Crisis and Immigration Equality. On World AIDS Day last year, President Bush announced his intention to create a streamlined process for foreign travelers with HIV to enter the United States more easily. Currently the United States …

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Washington Blade: CDC To Report
50% Rise In HIV Infections

UPDATE: For those who didn’t read the full Blade report, I should have made it more clear that the below rise in counted HIV infections is primarily due to the better reporting under stricter CDC guidelines. The news remains grim, but the upside will be better funding to address the actual case load. The Washington Blade reports that the CDC …

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Vaccine News Worse Than Thought

More disappointing news about Merck’s recently halted HIV vaccine study. The vaccine is made from a common cold virus with three synthetic HIV genes tucked inside. It’s designed to stimulate the immune system to kill any HIV-infected cells encountered in the future. However, the researchers found that volunteers with pre-existing immunity to this particular cold virus were much more likely …

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New AIDS Timeline Revealed

According to a new study, AIDS arrived in the United States via Haiti around 1969. WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The AIDS virus invaded the United States in about 1969 from Haiti, carried most likely by a single infected immigrant who set the stage for it to sweep the world in a tragic epidemic, scientists said on Monday. Michael Worobey, a University …

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KS Back In San Francisco

Horrible news of out San Francisco. San Francisco doctors have reported a cluster among gay men of unusual cases of Kaposi’s sarcoma, the cancer-like skin disease whose disfiguring purple lesions were a terrifying signature of a bygone era of the AIDS epidemic. All 15 patients under treatment for the condition are long-term survivors of HIV whose infections are firmly under …

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Sized To Fit

At an international convention of condom manufacturers, industry leaders are discussing the problem of poor-fitting rubbers, which can result in unwanted pregnancies or disease transmission. The old one-size-fits-all standard of the past has been increasingly dismissed, with several larger sizes available for years, although little attention has been paid to men who need a smaller fit. In 2003, TheyFit Condoms …

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Busy News Day For Elton John

At last night’s Elton John AIDS Foundation fundraiser at the Waldorf-Astoria, Elton announced a $300,000 gift to NYC schools. The money is directed to buy computers to help teach HIV/AIDS awareness to low-income middle school students, part of a $3.1M grant to the National Urban Technology Center. The gift to NYC will allow the agency to double its service from …

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UB2 Dating Hits Gotham

A new monthly gay dating event called “HIV-, UB2” launches in December. In response to the recent upward trend of new HIV infections in our city, the time has come to support HIV- people who wish to meet other HIV- people. To offer support, empowerment, awareness and understanding so HIV- people can create the same support network that HIV+ people …

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Edwards Plans To Dismantle Bush AIDS Programs

John Edwards has unveiled a far-reaching $50B HIV plan that would dismantle many of the Bush administration initiatives. Edwards’ plan would end the disastrous abstinence-only programs and would provide for age-appropriate sex education in public schools. The plan would also make HIV-positive people eligible for Medicaid before they reached the late states of the disease and would encourage needle-exchange programs …

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Merck Halts HIV Vaccine Trial

Disappointing news. Merck has stopped its promising HIV vaccine trial, after more subjects who received the vaccine contracted the virus that those who got the dummy shots. Merck’s vaccine trial was the farthest along and most closely watched. The National Institute of Health, who partly funded the research, said that not only did the vaccine not prevent infection, it did …

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The Power Of Dense

Andy Towle caught this bit of duncery at CBS’ The Power Of 10. Apparently, 47% of Americans would not swim in a pool with an HIV-positive person. I can remember at the very beginning of the epidemic how few guys would swim in the Parliament House pool. That lasted for a least a couple of years, until transmission methods were …

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Poz Poppas Legal In CA

HIV-positive men in California can now become fathers, as the ban on a sperm-washing procedure has now been lifted. The procedure, which removes the virus from semen before artificial insemination, has been available for 10 years, but California inadvertently blocked its use through a blanket ban on any transferring any tissues or fluids from HIV positive people. Tuesday, Gov. Schwartzenegger …

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