In This Issue
Last week, in an exclusive interview on the Today show, actor Charlie Sheen disclosed that he is HIV positive. Mr. Sheen's doctor added that he's on treatment, currently virally suppressed and has a good prognosis.
Even before the Today interview and without having any details, social media was a buzz with allegations about "the many women he exposed to HIV by having sex with them and not disclosing his status" and many other actions he has subsequently denied.
Many of these responses reveal the pervasive stigma that still exists against people living with HIV, the tremendous amount of ignorance that continues to exist around the disease and the ongoing need for education. The pre- and post reaction to Charlie Sheen's announcement demonstrate that, when it comes to HIV, the assumption for many people is "guilty until proven innocent". This is the reaction that PLWHA get when they try to disclose their positive status to others, personally and publicly. It is the driving narrative around HIV criminalization. In fact, in most states what is illegal and can get you thrown into jail is not the fact that you didn't disclose, but the fact that you can't prove that you did disclose.
While I am in no rush to make Charlie Sheen the next HIV/AIDS celebrity spokesperson or poster boy, his disclosure is an opportunity for all of us to be educated about the science and treatment of HIV/AIDS today and find what HIV/AIDS in 2015 really looks like. It appears the last time many Americans were engaged in a real national conversation about HIV/AIDS was in the mid 90's—long before the advent of many of the scientific breakthroughs like treatment as prevention or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) that have occurred over the last five years that dramatically reduce the possibility of HIV transmission.
There are no documented cases of HIV transmission in the United States where a person's viral load was undetectable/they were virally suppressed. Similarly, there are no documented cases in the United States of a person acquiring HIV when they've been taking PrEP as prescribed.
Next week is World AIDS Day. Now is the time to encourage HIV testing, celebrate disclosure and assure that people living with HIV and those at risk of infection have the treatment they need to live healthy lives ant protect others.
In this issue we report on the Black AIDS Institute's partnership with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the National Minority AIDS Council and the Baltimore chapter of the Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN) earlier this month to host the Baltimore PrEP Summit, a training to help health-care workers and community-based groups improve awareness of, access to and community engagement around PrEP. The summit was one stop on the Institute's National PrEP Tour. Check out the Black AIDS Weekly's Events listing to identify an upcoming stop on the PrEP Tour, near you.
Recently the Food and Drug Administration approved a new antiretroviral medication, Genvoya, a fixed-dose combination tablet marketed by Gilead Sciences and containing a new form of tenofovir. Our friends at the FDA report on this new weapon in our toolkit.
Our friends at the ACE TA Center are encouraging us to take the time to shop around for health insurance during open enrollment period. Read on for tips that will help ensure you're getting the right plan for you at the best possible price.
One reason that shopping around is so important is that not all plans cover all ARV medications. New research shows that many silver-level plans available on the marketplace may provide limited coverage for common drug regimens and high out-of-pocket costs. Kaiser Health News reports.
Recently the CDC released the latest results from the biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Not surprisingly, the STD and HIV epidemics among young people continue to rage, making the work that so many of us engage in vitally important.
Yours in the struggle,
Phill