Prevention and Public Health Fund in Jeopardy Help is needed to preserve the Prevention and Public Health
Fund established in the health reform law, $30 million of which has been
directed to HIV prevention activities in FY2010.
On September 14, the U.S. Senate will consider an amendment by Senator Mike
Johanns (R-NE) to the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 (HR 5297),
which eliminates a small business reporting requirement using the Prevention and
Public Health Fund to pay for it. This means $15 billion dedicated to prevention
and public health for fiscal years 2010 through 2017 would be eliminated.
The Prevention and Public Health Fund is the first ever investment of this size
to bolster prevention efforts and public health capacity. The Johanns amendment
would decrease support for evidence-based HIV/AIDS prevention activities, reduce
funding allocated to the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, and
weaken state and local public health infrastructure.
You can
TAKE ACTION by calling the Congressional switchboard at 202.224.2431 and
asking your senators to oppose all attempts to use the Prevention and Public
Health Fund as an offset, including for the Johanns Amendment and add your
agency support to a group
letter. See the
NASTAD
breakdown of spending for the Fund.
"Salk Gets $21 Million to Study HIV/AIDS"
San Diego Union-Tribune , (08.16.2010)
The National Institutes of Health has awarded $21 million to a consortium led by
the Salk Institute for Biological Studies to investigate how the body’s immune
system responds immediately after it is exposed to HIV.
It is hoped the research will contribute to the development of new HIV therapies
and better understanding of why the infection is more virulent in some people
than others.
The project is led by Salk immunologist John Young and Sanford-Burnham Medical
Research Institute geneticist Sumit Chanda. Other research organizations on the
project are the University of California-San Francisco, the University of
California-San Diego, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Northwestern University,
and the University of Pennsylvania.
“With the exception of a few specific proteins, (including APOBEC3G and
BST-2/CD317) there is actually very little known about how cellular innate
immune factors and pathways defend against HIV infection,” Young said.
CDC Updates HIV/AIDS Basic Statistics Web Page AIDSinfo At-A-Glance Volume 6 Issue 31
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated the
HIV Infection and AIDS Basic Statistics Web page with information from the
HIV Surveillance Report: Diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS in the United
States and Dependent Areas, 2008. This page provides information and
statistics on HIV/AIDS in the United States, including statistical breakdowns of
HIV and AIDS diagnoses by age, race/ethnicity, and transmission methods. The
page also provides links to Web sites to find HIV infection data by state and
links to locate international HIV/AIDS statistics.
In US Cities, HIV Linked More To
Poverty Than Race
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/19/ap/health/main6691007.shtml A study by the CDC released today- the first government study of its
kind - indicated that "Poverty is perhaps the most important factor in whether
inner-city heterosexuals are infected with the AIDS virus." "Federal scientists
found that race was not a factor - there were no significant differences between
blacks, whites or Hispanics." AP (7.19.10)
"Major Shift in HIV Strategy" San Francisco Chronicle , (07.14.2010) Andrew Aylward CDC NPIN
Summary
Advocates are hopeful that the National HIV/AIDS Strategy’s focus on
coordinating local, state, and federal responses to the epidemic will clarify
resources available to patients and streamline treatment and counseling
services. President Barack Obama unveiled the much-anticipated plan Tuesday at
the White House.
“For the Bay Area and San Francisco, the plan allows a more coordinated effort
between communities and federal agencies,” said Jason Riggs, deputy director of
Stop AIDS Project in San Francisco.
Critics noted that 2,200 Americans were on waiting lists for subsidized AIDS
treatment as of early July. Though the administration last week pledged $25
million to help these patients, waiting lists are a disincentive for testing,
said Michael Weinstein, president of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare
Foundation.
Thirty million dollars appropriated under the new health care reform law will be
used to help implement the strategy, said Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the US
Department of Health and Human Services. While additional monetary pledges were
not offered, existing HIV/AIDS funds will be redirected to meet the national
objectives.
The report tasks several federal agencies, including CDC, with re-evaluating
prevention programs in high-risk communities. The strategy marks the first time
HIV/AIDS’ disproportionate effect on black men and men who have sex with men has
been acknowledged at the national policy level. More than half of all HIV
infections in the United States were acquired through male-to-male sex, and
African Americans are seven times as likely to become infected as other races.
“From the very early days of the epidemic, the fear that some people will stop
caring about AIDS if it seems to happen mostly to people who are in their eyes
‘not like them’ has been there,” said Keith Humphreys, a Stanford Medical School
professor. “I think the country has come a long way since the epidemic started,
in terms of compassion and inclusiveness.”
Obama to Outline Plan to Cut H.I.V.
Infections
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/health/policy/12aids.html
In the report, the administration calls for steps to reduce the annual number of
new H.I.V. infections by 25 percent within five years. [Also] by 2015 the report
says, the United States should “increase the proportion of newly diagnosed
patients linked to clinical care within three months of their H.I.V. diagnosis
to 85 percent,” from the current 65 percent. NYTimes (2.11.10)
"White House to Unveil National AIDS Strategy Tuesday" Advocate , (07.08.2010)
The White House is set to present its National AIDS Strategy, the product of a
year and a half of work and meetings across the country, at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Early in his presidency, Barack Obama tasked Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services, and Jeffrey Crowley, director of the
Office of National AIDS Policy, with creating the plan. According to the White
House, the National AIDS Strategy is a “roadmap for policymakers, partners in
prevention, and the public on steps the United States must take to lower HIV
incidence, get people living with HIV into care, and reduce HIV-related health
disparities.” Sebelius and Crowley are scheduled to introduce the strategy along
with White House Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes and Dr. Howard
Koh, HHS assistant secretary for health.
"Economy Hurts Government Aid for
HIV Drugs" New York Times , (06.30.2010) Kevin Sack CDC NPIN Summary
An economic “perfect storm” is hitting state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs
across the nation. As of June 24, according to the National Alliance of State &
Territorial AIDS Directors, 1,840 people who cannot afford treatment were on
ADAP waiting lists...
Nationwide, ADAP enrollment grew 12 percent from June 2008 to June 2009, just as
the economic crisis saw many people lose their jobs and insurance coverage.
While federal ADAP assistance was up a scant 2 percent this year, state
contributions were down by 34 percent. Expanded testing efforts and earlier
initiation of antiretroviral therapy also are factors driving demand, NASTAD
reported. Pharmaceutical companies have upped their contribution by half, but
this is not enough to close the gap. See more in
Care News.
White House Releases National HIV/AIDS Strategy
On July 13th, 2010 at 2p.m. the White House released its National
HIV/AIDS Strategy. Watch the video above.
Across the Nation
OHIO:
"AIDS Research Center Gets NIH Grant" Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) , (07.27.2010) CDC NPIN Summary
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year, $9 million
renewal grant to Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals
Case Medical Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). Scientists there plan new
studies into how to limit HIV’s transmission, how to eradicate the virus
from infected patients, and how HIV causes disease, as well as the links
between HIV and cancer. The Cleveland facility is one of 17 CFARs across
the country and provides support to HIV research locally as well as
internationally.
"Panels to Probe Problems at St. Louis VA
Clinic"
Associated Press , (07.29.2010) Jim Salter
CDC NPIN Summary
Equipment sterilization problems at the St. Louis Veterans Affairs
Medical Center’s dental clinic will be investigated by two independent
panels, Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) said Thursday. In June, the VA began
informing 1,812 veterans who underwent dental procedures at the clinic
between Feb. 1, 2009, and March 11, 2010, that the errors may have
exposed them to HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. Of the 1,144 patients
screened so far, 809 tested negative. The VA has not provided a
breakdown of the diseases for which the other 335 have tested positive.
The new investigations, by the congressional Government Accountability
Office and the VA inspector general, are in addition to an internal VA
probe launched soon after the problems were made public. “If there are
veterans who have tested positive, regardless of whether they were
exposed through the dental clinic or through some other completely
unrelated source, they need to know so that they can get the treatment
they need and take needed precautions to keep their spouses and family
members safe,” Carnahan said.
"AIDS Agency Gets a New Home, and a Founder's
Ire" New York Times , (07.14.2010) Fred A. Bernstein CDC
NPIN Summary
Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) is moving into new office space in
Manhattan, in the process making changes that worry some advocates and
infuriate the organization’s co-founder.
“We did make some adjustments in order to secure what is a very good
deal, and I have no regrets,” said GMHC CEO Dr. Marjorie Hill, in
response to objections from, among others, co-founder Larry Kramer.
From its current site at 119 W. 24th St., GMHC will move on Jan. 1 about
one mile north and west to 450 W. 33rd St. The relocation was prompted
by an increase in GMHC’s annual rent from $6 million to more than $8
million.
At its new location, GMHC’s neighbors include the Associated Press, the
Daily News of New York and public broadcaster WNET, from which it is
subletting 165,000 square feet of space. In order to get approval for
the deal from the building’s owner, GMHC made a series of concessions
that have raised eyebrows in the community.
Unlike its current site, GMHC’s new location will not allow on-site
medical services. About 650 GMHC patients use the New York-Presbyterian
Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center clinic at the 24th Street site,
said center representative Kathleen Robinson.
The loss of clinic facilities is “regrettable but not fatal” to GMHC,
Hill said.
GMHC clients will enter the new site through a private entrance. While
Kramer likened this to a Jim Crow-like stigmatization, Hill said the
separate entrance provides clients with easy and private access.
Kitchen facilities at the new site are scaled down from the
industrial-type arrangement at the existing location, but GMHC still
will offer hot meals as it always has, Hill said.
Founded in 1981, at the very beginning of the HIV epidemic, GMHC
provides education, clinical services, and psychosocial support.
Bay Area Response to National AIDS Strategy
Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco) , (07.15.2010) Liz Highleyman CDC NPIN
Summary
Some HIV/AIDS group representatives are finding hopeful signs in the
National HIV/AIDS Strategy that President Barack Obama announced on
Tuesday.
“The current [AIDS Drug Assistance Program] crisis is a prime example of
what is wrong with our current response to HIV/AIDS; it is fragmented
and seems to move from crisis to crisis rather than to think
strategically,” said Randy Allgaier, a member of the Coalition for a
National AIDS Strategy. Thousands of US HIV patients are confronting
ADAP cuts and income caps, and nearly 2,300 were on ADAP waiting lists
as of early July.
Over the next five months, federal agencies will devise implementation
plans that will involve reallocating existing HIV/AIDS funds.
“The vision statement says a lot about the current administration’s
philosophy, by framing the plan in terms of human rights,
non-discrimination, and equity,” said Judith Auerbach of the San
Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF).
“We are excited to see evidence-based interventions a priority in the
federal plan,” said Barbara Kimport, SFAF’s interim CEO. “In San
Francisco, we learned a long time ago through experience with
needle-exchange programs that when you put science before ideology, you
can make great progress against HIV.”
A national objective of tackling HIV among gay and bisexual men notes
that they comprise more than half of new HIV infections. “After 29 years
of neglect, gay and bisexual men are finally being given the attention
they deserve,” said Jim Pickett of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein, however, branded
the strategy “a day late and a dollar short.” “There is no funding, no
‘how to,’ no real leadership,” he said.
Kate Krauss, executive director of the AIDS Policy Project, also
expressed disappointment. “They’re leaving 2,000 people without AIDS
drugs because of a $100 million ADAP shortfall, and they’re cutting AIDS
treatment in Africa. That isn’t a plan, it’s a disaster,” she said.
"VA Technician Says She Warned of Sterilization Problems" Associated Press , (07.13.2010) Jim Salter CDC NPIN
Summary
A former technician at the St. Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center
said she warned supervisors of sterilization errors more than a year
before the VA was forced to notify vets of possible exposure to
hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.
“If people were taking their jobs seriously, not passing the
buck and pointing the finger, none of this would have happened,” medical
supply technician Earlene Johnson said at a congressional hearing
Tuesday in St. Louis.
The lapses involved prewashing dental equipment without detergent prior
to sterilization, VA Undersecretary for Health Robert Petzel said.
In March 2010, the St. Louis VA concluded that its dental clinic
sterilization processes between February 1, 2009, and March 11, 2010,
were inadequate. Two weeks ago, the VA sent letters to 1,812 veterans
urging them to be tested for viruses including hepatitis B, hepatitis C,
and HIV.
While these viruses have been found in some of the 950 vets
tested so far, it is not known if exposure at the VA is the source, said
Dr. George Arana of the Veterans Health Administration.
Sterilization procedures have been revised, and no one who received
services since March 11 is at risk, Petzel said.
Johnson said she first alerted officials at the VA of problems in March
2009. She believes her complaints resulted in her subsequent
termination, and she is seeking to be reinstated.
The VA took heat at the hearing for the gap between confirmation of the
exposure in March of this year and notification almost four months
later.
“We did not respond quickly enough,” Petzel said.
"VA: Some of the Tested Missouri Veterans Have Viruses" Associated Press , (07.13.2010) CDC NPIN summary
At a House Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing Tuesday in St. Louis,
it was reported that some patients of the John A. Cochran Medical
Center’s dental clinic have tested positive for HIV, hepatitis B, and
hepatitis C. It is too soon, however, to know whether the infections
occurred as a result of lapses in equipment sterilization. Two weeks
ago, the VA sent letters warning 1,812 veterans treated there that the
mistakes may have exposed them to viruses. So far 950 veterans have been
tested, said Dr. George Arana of the Veterans Health Administration, who
did not report the number of patients testing positive.
Hundreds of Veterans at Risk for HIV From Dirty
Dentist Tools, VA Admits Veterans Affairs Secretary Vows Investigation, Disciplinary Measures
at St. Louis Facility
ABC New (7.01.10)
