CandyAssCommie

Committed advocate for HIV prevention and public health

[Maryam @hell_line0]

Ok hear me out: instead of all of us having to become extremely knowledgeable on a new infectious disease every 3-6 months, what if we got a large group of experts together and just put them in charge of giving us easy to understand health recommendations. They could also do things like track outbreaks and predict future concerns.

[CandyAssCommie @freetesting4HIV]

@alexeiauld @heynottheface Any news on Eugene?

[Governor Laura Kelly @GovLauraKelly]

As we celebrate 250 years of America, we remember Bleeding Kansas and the tenacity of abolitionist John Brown to ensure freedom for all. As we look forward to the next 250 years, we must re-unite to uphold the values of equality, justice, and fairness for all.

[DrDemetre @dr_demetre]

HPV vaccines work when people use them and public health successfully implements them. Zero deaths reported from 2020-2024 in 20-24 year olds. Take a look—Cervical cancer mortality trends following HPV vaccination in England, 2001–24: an analysis of population-based mortality data - The Lancet https://t.co/YVftb46Rbl

[Mark S. King @MyFabDisease]

My blog, My Fabulous Disease, has just won Excellence in Blogging for a fourth time from @nlgja It was recognized for a piece that was heartbreaking and infuriating to write: https://t.co/fX8Li0p1KM

[Michael @neolithicrumba2]

Let’s talk about the future of HIV treatment and prevention.

A 🧵

Two years ago, Gilead presented remarkable evidence from a clinical trial of HIV-negative women in Africa. The trial had to be stopped early because the results were so remarkable.

No women on LEN got HIV, compared to the comparision groups, women on Truvada and Descovy, Gilead’s other PrEP pills. A few months later, they released similar results among gay and bi men and trans women.

We’ve never had great results with PrEP, especially in Africa. Women have to take the drug in secret, because of HIV-related stigma, so adherence to a daily pill was so poor.

UNAIDS, WHO, and others called LEN a “game changer.”

Next post: How do we get a drug that costs $48,000 USD a year to the people who can’t afford it?

[Dave D'Marko @DaveDMarko]

These bars will be open until 5am during World Cup:
Missie B's, Becketts, Quaff, The Blue Line, Tin Roof, The Levee, Up-Down KC, El Pueblito, Thirsty Bull Saloon, Howl at the Moon, Frost KC, Gambal's, Laila, Twin City Tavern, Buzzard Beach. They can reopen at 6 a.m. each morning.

[Michael @neolithicrumba2]

Today is HIV Long-Term Survivors Day. June 5 was chosen because it was the date of the CDC publication that reported the first five cases of PCP in young gay men. The article appeared inside the publication, not on the cover as shown in the images. It would have been too controversial to lead with a story about gay men.

I worked with the article’s author, Dr. Michael Gottlieb, where he talked about these five guys like they were real people—not just statistics. I remember him saying that one looked like Billy Idol, wearing a leather motorcycle jacket and hair bleached into a big white pompador. Another raised big tropical birds, like macaws and cockatoos.

This is the legacy of us long-term survivors: we are the witness to a global pandemic, when we were afraid because there was no known cause, no treatment, and no way to test for it. It appeard in one person, and then another. They got sick, then died horrific deaths.

We were witness to the spead of HIV, the slow advancements in identifying the cause, creating a test, and the first failed attempts at controlling it. We volunteered as guinea pigs for these failed drugs, because there were no other options. We also bring something absent from the statistics and the test tubes. We remember the humanity.

These are not just memories of our friends gasping for air with fear on their dark, sunken faces. We still recite their poetry, we still laugh at their biting wit, we remember them on the dance floor, gracefully leaping into the air.

There are no rules on who can claim to be a long-term survivor, but here are a few that people have used:

1 Those who have been living with HIV for ten or more years

2 Those who were positive before effective ARVs became available in their country

3 Lifetime survivors—those born HIV+

4 And our negative allies whose hearts bear the scars of caring for their friends and lovers who were living with AIDS

To all of you—this is your day ❤️

[nathaniel @nathanielro]

Squidward was in his 40s in 1999 meaning he had his prime years during the AIDS crisis. It’s likely he spent a large portion of his life closeted or self-loathing. It makes sense he would resent SpongeBob’s carefree lifestyle. SpongeBob is everything Squidward couldn't be

[Michael @neolithicrumba2]

I've posted ARV pill charts from the US before, showing most of the drugs that are used to treat HIV. Now Poz is publishing a PrEP/PEP drug chart, showing the four PrEP options plus recommended PEP regimens.

What's interesting, if you look at the PEP options, one is dolutegravir+truvada+emtricitbine, taken as two pills. In the US, if you want TLD, you'd need to take two or three pills because they're made by different pharmaceutical companies. It's crazy that this effective combination isn't available because in the US, profit comes before patients

[Jacobin @jacobin]

Radical abolitionist John Brown was born on this day in 1800.

“I acknowledge no master in human form.”

[one dozen rats at a keyboard @PanasonicDX4500]

“the hantavirus kills you too effectively for it to become a full blown pandemic” is the kind of jaded analysis I look for from a virologist

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

⭕️ Trump Admin Weighed April 30 Deadline for Zambia: Accept Mining Deal or Risk Losing HIV Medications

The Trump administration weighed linking U.S. health aid to expanded access for American firms to Zambia’s copper, lithium, and cobalt reserves, the New York Times reported in March, citing a leaked State Department memo.

About 1.3 million Zambians rely on HIV treatment funded through PEPFAR. A reduced system is already operating, and support could be cut in one day. The memo, prepared for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, states: “We will only secure our priorities by demonstrating willingness to publicly take support away from Zambia on a massive scale.”

The draft proposal outlined $1 billion in health funding over five years, less than half prior levels, in exchange for three conditions: $340 million in new domestic health spending, preferential access for U.S. mining companies, and restructuring a $458 million Millennium Challenge Corporation grant toward mining regulatory reforms.

It remains unclear if the terms were formally presented to Zambia or if any deadline was officially conveyed. The memo reflects a negotiating position. There is no confirmed reporting on whether Zambia accepted or rejected the proposal.

[DrDemetre @dr_demetre]

1/2 Let me break it down: More measles cases=more deaths. Sanitation, antibiotics, better conditions brought measles deaths from thousands annually to 4–500. Vaccines eliminated measles cases and therefore eliminated measles deaths. Vaccines not sanitation did that.

[CandyAssCommie @freetesting4HIV]

Free condoms should be available from your local health department!

[BBC News (World) @BBCWorld]

World's biggest condom maker to raise prices due to Iran war https://t.co/DkpbmqcZEb

[gianmarco @GianmarcoSoresi]

Wake me up when it affects the world’s average condom maker

[marina 🌞 @themarinadove]

porn addiction isn’t real, but self soothing by masturbating as a stim for people on the AuDHD spectrum is.

[zellie @zellieimani]

Mandatory

[AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) @AHFcares]

We showed up at @GileadSciences HQ 📍 with one message: lower the price of HIV medication.

Biktarvy costs nearly $61,000 per person annually💊💰—putting treatment out of reach.

In Florida, 11,500 people are at risk of losing access.

People over profit.

#PeopleOverProfit #HIVCare #HealthEquity