Gays don t come out to doctors, new study shows NEW YORK -- Some 50 to 75 percent of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people don t tell their doctors about their sexual orientation, according to a study released Dec. 18, Reuters Health reported. Witeck-Combs Communications, a gay-owned public relations gr
Thirteen members of Congress, including its only open lesbian, blasted the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services for recent changes to its Web site and a fact sheet about condoms, claiming the moves were to distort and suppress scientific information for ideological purposes. The letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thomp
A former congressman and Christian conservative who co-chairs President Bush s AIDS advisory council has assigned members of the panel to read a controversial book calling on gay men to reduce the number of their sex partners as a means of curtailing the spread of AIDS. Former Congressman Tom Coburn, a Republican from
Basketball great Magic Johnson calls for cheaper AIDS drugs DES MOINES, Iowa -- Affordable medications to treat AIDS should be available to more people, especially minorities living in the inner cities, former basketball great Earvin Magic Johnson said Dec. 3, according to the Associated Press. What we want to do now i
Kramer lends name to fight against company over HIV drug LOS ANGELES -- Larry Kramer, the award-winning playwright and ACT UP founder, lent his voice in support of a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the patent for AZT , the first AIDS drug. London-based GlaxoSmithKline holds the patent for
Founder of AIDS Quilt decries lack of political focus on disease CONCORD, N.H. -- Angry at the Bush administration s response to the worldwide AIDS epidemic, the founder of the AIDS Quilt plans to bring it back to Washington in 2004 to call new attention to the disease, according to the Associated Press. The quilt, cur
In anticipation of World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, and a scheduled trip by President Bush to Africa in mid-January, a small group of protesters rallied in front of the White House on Tuesday, Nov. 26. The protesters, holding a sign that declared AIDS worldwide is a Code Red Emergency. They demanded new White House initiatives
St. Louis pediatrician tapped to lead gay health group SAN FRANCISCO -- Kenneth A. Haller, Jr., a St. Louis pediatrician, was named president of the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association last week. Haller was one of several new officers and board members also elected. The challenges faced by gay and lesbian persons see
All but one of the eight remaining Clinton appointees on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS were expected to be notified by the Bush administration this month that they would not be re-appointed to the panel when their terms expire in January, sources familiar with the administration said. AIDS activists sai
Travis Worl of Washington, D.C., received his first inoculation this week of a new HIV vaccine that researchers hope one day will prevent humans worldwide from contracting the virus that causes AIDS. It s very much a personal choice, but I think it s a little thing that we can do to possibly help in a big way, the 27-y
New HIV test provides quick, accurate results, feds say WASHINGTON - The government approved a new 20-minute HIV test Nov. 7 that promises on-the-spot diagnosis of the AIDS virus, according to the Associated Press. Most previous HIV tests take days to provide results, and at least 8,000 people a year who test positive
Six days before the Nov. 5 election, President Bush s chief domestic policy adviser hosted an unannounced meeting at the White House with leaders of 10 of the nation s most prominent AIDS advocacy groups. On the day following their Oct. 30 meeting with Margaret Spelling, director of the White House Domestic Policy Coun
NIH chief looks for areas of promising new research WASHINGTON - Five months into his tenure as chief of the National Institutes of Health, Elias Zerhouni has begun to settle into the job and to speak out about his scientific and political priorities, according to the Washington Post. The NIH, an institution poised to
Food & Friends event vows to boost riders, credibility in 2003 event One month after its official launching date, organizers of D.C. s 2003 Tour de Friends AIDS bicycle ride say they are hopeful the event will draw thousands of riders and donors, reversing a record low return from the 2002 Washington, D.C. AIDS Rid
Whitman-Walker panel to weigh continuation of 16-year event after disappointing 18-percent return The Whitman-Walker Clinic s 16th annual AIDS Walk, held October 5, pulled in less than $600,000 in income and incurred at last $490,000 in expenses, yielding less than $110,000 in net proceeds for programs that assist peop
FDA grants priority review to new AIDS drug Fuzeon New York - Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche and its U.S. partner Trimeris Inc. said Oct. 18 that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted a priority review to their AIDS drug, Fuzeon, according to the Associated Press. The priority review means the drug will g
A growing number of gay men whose facial appearance has been altered as a result of side effects from HIV/AIDS medication are purchasing a cosmetic product called New-Fill and asking doctors to inject it in their cheeks and temples. It s not as though I m hiding my HIV status from anybody. I m open and out about it to
New San Francisco ad campaign shows HIV is no picnic SAN FRANCISCO - At a time when gay and bisexual men are increasingly engaging in risky sexual behavior, a new ad campaign in San Francisco shows HIV-positive men suffering from the debilitating side effects of AIDS and the drugs used to treat it, according to the San
San Francisco lawmaker calls for ban on nonoxynol-9 SAN FRANCISCO - Gay city Supervisor Mark Leno has requested legislation that would ban the sale of sexual lubricants and condoms that contain the spermicide nonoxynol-9, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The nonoxynol-9 lubricants are a danger to public health
Net proceeds not yet available, but turnout double last year s all-time low At least 7,500 people participated in the Whitman-Walker Clinic s annual Washington, D.C. AIDS Walk on Oct. 5, raising hopes among clinic officials that the fund-raising event will pull in enough money to justify its continuation in future year
Calif. governor signs bill for early treatment of HIV SACRAMENTO (AP) - AIDS activists declared a major legislative victory Sept. 18 as Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill that will provide treatment to people with HIV in the early stages of the disease. The governor also signed several other health-related bills, including
NEW YORK - After years of living with the AIDS epidemic, the word on the street concerning HIV reinfection resembles that well-known river in Egypt : denial. Two scientific studies on two different continents have confirmed what many have suspected for years: that unprotected anal sex can result in multiple infections
More than 80 medical professionals and health advocacy organizations spoke out Sept. 26 against the popular spermicide nonoxynol-9, saying the contraceptive ingredient long considered to have properties that deter HIV infection actually increases risk of transmitting the virus. The medical coalition, led by the Global
Unstable charitable giving, an uncertain economy and a decrease in the number of registered participants for the 16th Annual AIDS Walk have Whitman-Walker Clinic officials worried. Whitman-Walker, the D.C. area s largest private AIDS service provider holds the annual fund-raiser, set for this weekend. It s important in
Calif. governor signs bill for early treatment of HIV SACRAMENTO (AP) - AIDS activists declared a major legislative victory Sept. 18 as Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill that will provide treatment to people with HIV in the early stages of the disease. The governor also signed several other health-related bills, including
D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams proposal to cut $203 million from the city s budget to ward off a large deficit next year is yet another in a series of developments that threaten to harm local programs that help people with AIDS, officials with D.C. area AIDS organizations said this week. A spokesperson for the D.C. Depart
Report says federal, Texas programs endanger gay youth, violate international law Abstinence-only programs funded by the U.S. government violate human rights principles established under international law by preventing American teenagers at risk for AIDS from obtaining potentially life-saving information, according to
Prevention to focus on HIV-positive men who view unprotected sex with positive partners as safe A recent study and an accompanying editorial published Sept. 5 in the New England Journal of Medicine cast doubt on the widely held assumption among HIV-positive persons that they can t be re-infected with the AIDS virus.
Women have lower levels of HIV in blood than men, study says NEW YORK - At similar stages of HIV infection, women tend to have lower levels of the virus in their blood than men, according to a new report. Previous studies have yielded conflicting findings on this issue. But the new report, which took a close look at 13
Risky sex less frequent in bathhouses, report says NEW YORK -- Risky sexual behavior appears to be less frequent at gay bathhouses than in the past, but gay and bisexual men who do report having unsafe sex in bathhouses are more likely to be HIV-positive, Reuters Health reported Aug. 30. Researchers are highlighting th
Dr. Wan Yanhai, a leading AIDS activist in China , vanished Saturday, Aug. 24, after attending a gay and lesbian film festival in Beijing. Rhonda Smith The renowned Chinese AIDS activist who vanished in Beijing Aug. 24 has been an outspoken advocate for gay men and other groups hit hardest by the epidemic. The Chri
New approach to AIDS vaccine shows promise WASHINGTON -- AIDS researchers said Aug. 19 they had designed a vaccine that they believe may do what no other vaccine has done: protect people from infection with the virus, Reuters reported. So far the team at the Institute of Virology at the University of Maryland has only
ATLANTA -- Almost all HIV-positive young black gay men interviewed in a four-year study by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention did not know they had the virus, CDC researchers reported last week. Of the 920 young black men who have sex with men in the six-city study, 16 percent tested positive for HIV. Of
Pallotta TeamWorks, the Los Angeles fund-raising company credited with pioneering the AIDS bicycle rides and breast cancer walks, closed its doors and laid off its entire staff of 250 employees on Aug. 23, raising questions about whether the company would remain in business. The shuttering of the firm s offices was fir
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services was only complying with a request by members of Congress when it began compiling federal funding information on 12 AIDS service organizations whose members heckled HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson at the international AIDS conference in Barcelona, an HHS spokesperson said
Federal health officials scrutinize AIDS programs at Calif. agency SAN FRANCISCO -- A four-person team from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention spent four hours Aug. 12 in meetings with employees of the Stop AIDS Project in the Castro to determine whether its programs comply with government obscenity stand
The Gay & Lesbian Medical Association recently released the results of a survey listing the 10 leading health care concerns men who have sex with men should discuss with their medical providers. The survey included responses from more than 500 doctors and health care practitioners affiliated with GLMA, a spokespers
Increase in drug-resistant HIV concerns researchers BOSTON - More than one-fifth of people recently infected in the U.S. and Canada with the virus that causes AIDS have strains that do not respond to some of the best anti-viral medications, according to a study in the Aug. 7 edition of the New England Journal of Medici
BOULDER, Colo. - After the demise of the Gay & Lesbian Health Conference in 1997, organizers of those meetings and the semi-annual Gay Men s Health Summits worked for five years toward the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Intersex Health Summit, an all-inclusive series of plenary sessions and workshops on
AIDS could end in 50 years, new mathematical model shows SAN FRANCISCO - It might be possible to stop the AIDS epidemic purely through use of currently available drug therapies, according to a mathematical model based on San Francisco. If the model developed by the University of California at Los Angeles researchers ho
ABERDEEN, S.D. - A 39-year-old South Dakota resident who was sexually intimate with two men charged with intentionally exposing people to HIV said he does not consider himself a victim and wants prosecutors to leave him out of the matter. I do not consider this a crime. I do not consider myself a victim, the Aberdeen r
Participants and supporters of the 2002 Washington D.C. AIDS Ride contributed $3.6 million to the bicycling event, but expenses associated with the June 13-16 ride came to $3.1 million, leaving $500,000 in net proceeds for the Whitman-Walker Clinic and Food & Friends, the two beneficiaries of the ride. Whitman-Walk
ATLANTA - In one of her first public actions related to domestic AIDS programs, the new head of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention announced she will dispatch an agency team to investigate accusations against a San Francisco AIDS agency known for frank prevention programs targeted at gay and bisexual men.
A grant to the D.C. government to teach teenagers that abstinence until marriage is the best way to avoid HIV and pregnancy has provoked condemnation from gay and AIDS activists who decry the approach as inappropriate for gay youths. The D.C. government accepted a $763,558 federal grant on July 2 to teach teenagers tha
Doctors treat depressed HIV patients differently, study says PITTSBURGH -- A new study suggests that physicians could be making a lethal mistake if they fail to give the same credibility and treatment to depressed patients with HIV that they give to nondepressed patients with the disease. In a study published in the Ju
$60 million grants to bolster microbicide development NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A $60 million grant will help an Eastern Virginia Medical School program develop contraceptives and products to fight AIDS. The U.S. Agency for International Development gave the money to a program called CONRAD, formerly known as Contraceptive R
Speculation over whether Scott Evertz, the openly gay director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, was fired or rewarded with another, equally prestigious job in the government continued to swirl in Washington this week, with a platoon of unnamed sources giving wildly differing views on Evertz s fate and
BALTIMORE - Public health officials in Baltimore are seeing increasing numbers of syphilis cases among men who have sex with men, though they said the city s overall syphilis rate continues to decline. This trend among gay men is consistent with those recently identified in other U.S. cities, they said. This particular
The District of Columbia Office of the Corporation Counsel and the Florida Avenue Grill restaurant in D.C. recently agreed to pay HIV-positive employees financial settlements after the workers in the unrelated cases filed discrimination complaints based on their medical conditions. The Office of the Corporation Counsel
Neb. governor criticized for handling of AIDS grant LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Gov. Mike Johanns anti-gay attitude contributed to a missed deadline by a gubernatorial appointee for a federal grant benefiting AIDS patients, state Sen. Ernie Chambers said in a letter to Johanns mailed July 8. Chambers said he was distressed b
ATLANTA -- The ability of HIV to develop multiple strains has ignited concerns among some AIDS researchers about a super-infection that may threaten the success of vaccines designed to stymie the disease and adds to safety concerns over barebacking. A case study presented earlier this month at the XIV International AID
Six Republican Congress members sent a letter this week to the private, non-profit Public Broadcasting Service asking that an HIV-positive character created for Sesame Street s South African version not appear on the show in the U.S. We are concerned that what may be fitting for viewers of Sesame Street in South Africa
The former executive director of the HIV Community Coalition of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., has filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia seeking $1.3 million from the non-profit AIDS organization. Sundiata N. Alayé, who began working as HCC s director in September 2000, contends in the lawsu
Michael M. Phillips, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON -- Nearly 13 million people in southern Africa face imminent starvation unless the U.S. and other wealthy nations contribute more than $600 million in food, medicine and other emergency assistance over the next two months, the United Nations warned. Drought conditions have left six nations struggling to meet
A WEEK AGO on this page, President Bush received the benefit of the doubt on gay civil rights, where no news from the White House has mostly been good news, so far at least. There is far more to report on the Bush administration s efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS, but unfortunately the news is mostly bad. Two big
MTV is one of the greatest guilty pleasures on TV, and with all the queer housemates on Real World, gay hotties on Undressed and anything having to do with Ricky Martin, there is always some programming that gays will enjoy. Starting in late June, the music and pop culture network started airing public service announce
Leading AIDS expert to set up research center in Hong Kong HONG KONG (AP) -- The renowned director of a New York City AIDS research center plans to set up an institute in Hong Kong to try to prevent the deadly disease from spreading in Asia. Dr. David Ho, the scientific director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Cente
ATLANTA -- The announcement last week of Julie Gerberding, an infectious-disease specialist with experience in AIDS issues, to lead the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention was met with criticism from both AIDS activists and conservatives. The unlikely partnership took issue with Gerberding s approach to HIV pr
Yonnathan Hernandez, 20, hadn t even been born in 1981, when the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in Atlanta first documented the disease that would later become known as AIDS. In the late 80s and early 90s, when AIDS decimated gay men around the country, Hernandez was in elementary school, learning spellin
Just five days before the European AIDS Vaccine Ride staged by Pallotta TeamWorks was set to roll from Amsterdam to Paris, founder Dan Pallotta sent an e-mail to registered cyclists announcing the end of the vaccine rides and predicting the lowest returns from any ride produced by the company. We had budgeted to regist
Scientists with AIDS background candidates for CDC post WASHINGTON (AP) -- A scientist on the front lines of the anthrax investigation and a longtime seeker of an AIDS vaccine are the leading candidates to become the next director of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Bush administration officials say. P
Experts see dangerous trend in use of Viagra with party pills SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Nearly a third of gay men surveyed at sexually transmitted disease clinics said they were using the anti-impotence drug Viagra, often in combination with illegal drugs that tend to encourage risky behavior. Health experts say Viagra alo
Medical needs of gays often overlooked, group says FERNDALE, Mich. (AP) -- The medical needs of gays often are ignored by health care providers, according to the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project, which is using a state grant to try to remedy the problem. Discrimination, misunderstanding and fear of the unknown by hospit
There were 900 fewer riders than last year, but no one among the hundreds of cheering and banner-waving onlookers seemed focused on that fact as 1,117 bicyclists participating in the seventh annual D.C. AIDS Ride peddled triumphantly onto the National Mall on Sunday, June 16. Wearing bright red T-shirts, the mass of mo
Bush to propose initiative to fight AIDS abroad WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Republicans decided to seek less money for fighting AIDS in Africa and elsewhere after White House officials said they would unveil a new plan to combat the disease abroad, a GOP lawmaker said. In the coming days, President Bush is expected to pr
ARLINGTON, Va. -- Public health officials in Alexandria and Arlington said they are concerned about the increase in the number of gay and bisexual men who have tested positive for syphilis in the past three years. While the two Northern Virginia cities are not experiencing a syphilis outbreak, like those reported in re
New drug packs punch bigger than Viagra, companies say INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- A yet-to-be approved impotence drug developed by Eli Lilly and Co. and Icos Corp. appears to be longer-lasting than Viagra, the companies said, citing a study being released at the American Urological Association conference in Orlando. Patients
Some 400,000 march in Latin America s biggest gay parade SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- An estimated 400,000 people Sunday danced and marched through Sao Paulo Sunday in what was billed as Latin America s biggest Gay Pride parade. Gay Pride day was officially opened by Sao Paulo s left-leaning mayor, Marta Suplicy, who in a
Group battles GlaxoSmithKline on cost of AIDS drugs LOS ANGELES (AP) -- AIDS Healthcare Foundation, one of the largest providers of specialized care for HIV patients in the U.S., said it will bar GlaxoSmithKline from marketing drugs at its outpatient sites to protest the company s pricing policies. Although the British
Whitman-Walker Clinic and Food & Friends announced May 31 that they will no longer retain the Los Angeles fund-raising company Pallotta Teamworks to produce the D.C. AIDS Ride after this year, but representatives from the two local groups say the decision was made in a mutual and amicable fashion with the firm that
Elton John blasts U.K. leader on AIDS prevention LONDON -- Elton John, one of Tony Blair s most prominent celebrity supporters, said the British prime minister should be thoroughly ashamed of his government s record on AIDS prevention, Reuters reported. In an interview with Sky News, John said he was disgusted with wha
ABERDEEN, S.D. -- Two gay men in South Dakota are facing 45 to 90 years in prison after being separately indicted this month for intentionally exposing several sexual partners to HIV. A grand jury indicted Aberdeen resident William Kenneth Jenigen on six counts of intentional exposure to HIV, a felony in South Dakota.
Officials with the Whitman-Walker Clinic and Food & Friends this week refused to say whether they plan to retain the controversial fund-raising company Pallotta Teamworks to organize a 2003 AIDS Ride, saying they plan to make an important announcement about the 2003 ride next week. Speculation that the two groups w
The Cherry Fund, the D.C. organization that produced the city s Cherry 7 gay circuit party last month, raised approximately $198,000 in net proceeds and will donate $173,000 of that amount to gay and AIDS related charities or causes, according to Bruce Namerow, vice chair of the group s board of directors. Namerow said
Gay D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) said he plans to introduce a bill this month calling for the creation of an Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Issues within the office of the mayor, saying the bill enjoys widespread support, including from Mayor Anthony Williams (D). But some gay activists
Drug maker warns of switched AIDS drugs WASHINGTON (AP) -- Patients prescribed the AIDS drug Combivir should make sure they received the correct pills after people in four states bought Combivir bottles that contained AIDS drug Ziagen , according to
Federal health officials and gay health experts released separate sets of guidelines last week, advising doctors how to be culturally competent in treating gay men and directing gays to seek out annual tests for HIV and other STDs. The Gay & Lesbian Medical Association released two sets of guidelines for health pra
Bush s pick to lead NIH sails through Senate hearing WASHINGTON -- President Bush s nominee to head the National Institutes of Health sailed through his Senate confirmation hearing last week, after expressing strong support for federal funding for stem cell research, the Washington Post reported. Dr. Elias Zerhouni, a
Some 15 years after it started in San Francisco, the city where the most recognizable symbol of the AIDS pandemic -- the now 54-ton AIDS Memorial Quilt -- started will lose its chapter of the NAMES Project Foundation later this month. The announcement that the Bay Area chapter will shutter its doors May 31 comes on the
The recent loss of a $600,000 grant to operate a housing program primarily for people with HIV/AIDS forced the D.C. Comprehensive AIDS Resources and Education Consortium to cut its staff by 50 percent, the board director for the group said. The CARE Consortium s supporters contend that the organization is being treated
AIDS activists and gay leaders aren t doing enough to stifle what some health experts are calling an alarming rise in syphilis cases, according to a former director of sexually transmitted disease prevention programs at the federal Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Gay community leadership is basically non-
The number of D.C. area gay or bisexual men who engaged in receptive anal intercourse with a partner without a condom rose slightly, from 19.4 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2001, according to data released last week by the Whitman-Walker Clinic. Clinic officials said the data were obtained from questionnaires comple
Cyclist Mark Cloutier, who participated in an AIDS Vaccine Ride produced by Pallotta TeamWorks last year, filed suit April 23 in San Francisco Superior Court against the group for allegedly misrepresenting how much ride proceeds land in medical research coffers. The lawsuit comes as Pallotta officials distributed two e
AIDS awareness school curriculum first in Iran TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iranian children will be taught about how to avoid AIDS for the first time starting in September, the head of the country s AIDS program said Monday. In an Islamic nation where talk of anything related to sex is largely taboo, the Education Ministry pr
Bill seeks to curb spread of HIV in N.Y. prisons ALBANY, N.Y. -- The New York State Assembly is considering legislation requiring the state corrections commissioner to develop comprehensive STD and HIV prevention programs in state prisons, which have the highest rate of HIV in the nation. We have 70,000 people in our s
Elton John urges Congress to up funds in world AIDS fight WASHINGTON (AP) -- British pop singer Elton John, testifying before Congress, said the U.S. has an obligation to use its vast resources to stop the spread of AIDS around the world. No nation, corporation, foundation or individual has the money you have, John tol
Controversy surrounding the AIDS vaccine rides produced by the fund-raising company Pallotta Teamworks took a new twist last month when an ad hoc group of AIDS activists began placing full-page ads in gay newspapers denouncing the company for running up shamefully high overhead costs and high fees for the rides. Offici
The tradition began more than a decade ago with popular gay circuit parties in Fire Island, South Miami Beach, and Palm Springs, Calif. Hoards of 20-something and 30-something gay men paid hefty admission fees to dance the night away in giant dancehalls or beachfront properties. Nearly all did so with the thought that
Syphilis surges among gay men in urban areas SAN FRANCISCO -- Outbreaks of syphilis among gay men in large urban areas, particularly in California, are threatening to reverse progress toward eliminating the disease in this country, according to the Los Angeles Times. In San Francisco, the number of new infectious cases
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Maryland House of Delegates approved a medical marijuana bill March 24 that would allow physicians to prescribe marijuana for patients with a debilitating disease. The measure also allows medical necessity as a defense in court for people charged with possession or use of marijuana. Under the legi
Some gay health activists greeted with cautious optimism President Bush s nominations last week of a new surgeon general and director of the National Institutes of Health. The two appointments -- along with whoever receives the nod to head the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control & Prevention -- came something
Study: tongue piercings may pose health risk CHICAGO -- Extended wear of barbell tongue jewelry could increase the chance of gum recession and tooth chipping, according to a study published in the March Journal of Periodontology. Researchers from Loma Linda University School of Dentistry and Ohio State University Colle
AIDS vaccine may be as many as 10 years away, expert says WASHINGTON (AP) -- Important unanswered questions remain in the development of a broadly effective AIDS vaccine, which could be a decade or more away, a top AIDS researcher said March 15. Do I think in five years we are going to have a vaccine that is going to p
The D.C. government will increase its spending on AIDS programs in fiscal year 2003 by only $18,000, but the federal government will kick in nearly $9.6 million more to support city efforts to fight AIDS, according to budget information released this week by District Mayor Anthony Williams. Similar to past years, the m
Pledges of cooperation and a respect for differing opinions emerged as recurring themes March 14-15 at the first meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS since President Bush named 26 new members to that body, including conservative Republican Tom Coburn, a former congressman from Oklahoma, as its co-ch
The three most important issues facing black gays in the U.S. are HIV/AIDS, hate crime violence, and marriage and domestic partnership matters, according to the largest multi-city survey of this population to date. Mandy Carter, a longtime gay civil rights advocate who lives in North Carolina, said it is politically si
The D.C. chapter of the organization that sponsors the AIDS Memorial Quilt announced on Wednesday, March 20, that it is disbanding rather than agree to a controversial contract with the national group that members felt would destroy the local group s independence and threaten its finances. The 13-year-old Names Project
Gay sperm banks fight proposed federal regulations ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Clinics like the gay Rainbow Flag Health Services & Sperm Bank are still fighting against a three-year-old proposal by the federal government to regulate sperm donations by gay men, with critics of regulation saying that proponents are guilty of
Those who were involved in the landmark 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City may not have known then that their calls for equality were crossing oceans. But in a tiny Middle Eastern country embroiled in controversy since that time of its birth, a gay community was inspired to action. Etai Pinkas, chair of the national
Citing disappointing fundraising results, the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York City announced March 11 that it would no longer accept money for AIDS vaccine research from fundraising events produced by the Los Angeles fundraising company Pallotta Teamworks. The announcement by the Diamond Center came less
The Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance, the city s oldest gay advocacy group, told the D.C. Council on March 6 that the city s HIV/AIDS Administration operates without effective management, without accountability, and without oversight and that it is a floundering agency with no real idea of what it is doing. In test
Helms clarifies his views about homosexuality, AIDS research funding RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) says a comment he made last month that he was ashamed about his inaction on the AIDS epidemic didn t mean he had altered his views on homosexuality or his belief that government spending on AIDS research
SEATTLE -- It has been almost four years since the last AIDS medical high. That was 1998, when news came from Berlin that a patient who had interrupted his combination therapy on two occasions had been able to keep his viral load suppressed without continuing the burdensome pill regimen. Researchers began discussing th
One thing should be made perfectly clear, according to Steve Bennett, president of Pallotta Teamworks, the company that helps raise (and keep) millions of dollars a year through its trademark AIDS bicycle rides. The Pallotta firm remains committed to the AIDS rides, and it will no longer push participants so strongly t
ATLANTA -- In a surprise announcement, Dr. Jeffrey Koplan said Feb. 21, that he will resign as director of the CDC effective March 31, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Koplan, who has worked for the Atlanta-based agency for 26 years, became the director in 1998 after being nominated by former President Clinto
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Franklin Graham said the AIDS epidemic is an even bigger threat to civilization as we know it than terrorism. The son of North Carolina evangelist Billy Graham, spoke Feb. 17 at a conference here that drew more than 800 Christian workers from around the world who specialize in helping HIV-positive pe
Notoriously anti-gay U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) said Wednesday, Feb. 20, at a Christian AIDS conference that he is ashamed he did not do more to fight the worldwide AIDS epidemic, and he pledged to do more during his remaining months in office, a pledge greeted with skepticism by gay and AIDS activists. I have been
Many of the nation s federally funded AIDS programs -- including the popular Ryan White CARE Act program -- are riddled with waste, fraud, and mismanagement and should be changed or eliminated, according to a report released Feb. 14 by a taxpayers advocacy group. The report, AIDS Programs: An Epidemic of Waste, was pre
Three highly publicized AIDS Vaccine Rides organized last year by the fundraising firm Pallotta Teamworks pulled in more than $19 million in contributions from riders and corporate sponsors but incurred more than $16 million in overhead expenses, leaving only $4,012,000 for the three vaccine research institutions desig
The use of drugs or alcohol among white men in Washington, D.C., who have sex with men remains a leading factor putting this population at risk for contracting HIV, a survey sponsored by Whitman-Walker Clinic and local health officials shows. The survey of 1,026 white gay Washingtonians also noted that this population
Cocaine speeds up rate at which HIV spreads in mice LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Cocaine speeds up the rate at which HIV spreads through the bodies of mice, researchers at University of California, Los Angeles, reported Thursday, Feb. 14. The results suggest the drug has a direct effect on the AIDS virus. Using specially bred l
Just four months after Harriet Hattie Babbitt began her tenure as executive director of AIDS Action, the organization announced that Marsha Martin would be taking over as its new leader. Martin has been an advocate in the HIV/AIDS community for more than 15 years and said her main goal in her new position is to fight A
Editor s note: This is the second of a two-part article profiling Scott Evertz, the Bush administration s national AIDS policy director. The first part ran in last week s issue. As director of the Office of National AIDS Policy, Scott Evertz is President Bush s point man on AIDS. But last month Bush appointed a conserv
Los Angeles AIDS organization appoints new director of programs Los Angeles -- AIDS Project Los Angeles, one of the nation s largest AIDS service organizations, has appointed Dr. Lee E. Klosinski, a longtime AIDS advocate and current APLA director of education as director of programs. In this newly created position, Kl
ATLANTA -- Less than a year after a controversial move from San Francisco to Atlanta, the organization that cares for the AIDS Memorial Quilt is splintering and working to stabilize its finances. At least five of 30 chapters of the NAMES Project are disbanding, and three of the closures are related to an aggressive new
Scott Evertz, the openly gay director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, has an office in one of the townhouse buildings that line the perimeter of Lafayette Park across the street from the White House. On a shelf near his desk, nestled between photos of himself with President George W. Bush, sits a fra
$200 million pledged by Bush for AIDS Fund WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush will include a $200 million contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria in his new budget proposal, the administration announced Sunday, Jan. 27. The money would be available in the budget year beginning Oct 1. Th
The Bush administration is about to name former U.S. Rep. Tom Coburn, a conservative from Oklahoma who has advocated abstinence over condom usage and mandatory HIV names reporting, as co-chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Bush is also poised to name four gay Republican activists as members of the p
One of Dr. Philippe Chiliade s first tasks as the new medical director for Whitman-Walker Clinic was to take a close look at the centers the organization operates in the District of Columbia, suburban Maryland, and Northern Virginia. But when he shared what he found recently with the Clinic s board of directors, few se
Scientists find HIV-like virus in chimp for first time BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Pursuing the hunt for the origin of AIDS, Alabama researchers have found an HIV-like virus in a single chimpanzee in the wild for the first time -- and in a different part of Africa than they d suspected. This particular type of chimp in
A three-hour procedure that removes a person s white cells, modifies them and infuses them back into their body has shown that the cells are resistant to re-infection with HIV, according to a new study. The procedure, called costimulation, has raised the hopes of some HIV experts, but the lead author of the study said
Gay men view HIV-medicating men as less risky NEW YORK -- Gay men may be more prone to have unprotected sex with HIV-positive partners who are taking antiretroviral drugs than with HIV-positive partners not on medication because of the perception that the drugs lower the risk of transmission of infection, researchers r
WASHINGTON -- Catholics for a Free Choice has decided that advertisements displayed on 46 bus shelters in the District of Columbia will remain until Feb. 15 to draw attention to the Catholic Church s opposition to condom use. The ads were to be removed at the end of this month. The education and advocacy group s presid
Larry Kramer out of hospital after liver transplant PITTSBURGH (AP) -- AIDS activist and author Larry Kramer has been discharged from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, two weeks after the HIV-positive patient underwent a liver transplant. Kramer, 66, will remain in Pittsburgh for a few more weeks so doctors
AIDS activist and writer Larry Kramer receives liver PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Despite an alarming Associated Press report announcing his death last week, AIDS activist and author Larry Kramer s condition was upgraded to fair on Dec. 26 and he was moved from intensive care five days after undergoing a liver transplant. A spok
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