It's National HIV Testing Day

So notes the Centers for Disease Control:

The majority of the estimated 56,000 new HIV infections that occur each year are transmitted by those who are unaware of their infection. Effective HIV treatments now allow people living with HIV to live long, productive lives, yet nearly 17,000 people with AIDS still die every year in the United States. Despite these troubling statistics, the majority of Americans have still never taken an HIV test. Many people don’t recognize that they’re at risk for HIV infection, even if they engage in behaviors that put them at risk. Others may fear what a positive diagnosis could mean for them, despite the effective treatments now available. And many people don’t yet realize that testing today is quick, easy and confidential. On this National HIV Testing Day, don’t let fear or misinformation stop you from getting tested. I strongly encourage all Americans to get tested for HIV, and to text and tweet hivtest.org to your friends and family to encourage them to do the same. HIV testing is the critical first step to protect yourself and your loved ones from HIV, and to help end the HIV epidemic in the United States.

In addition to the LGBT community health centers, there are many locations in New York City which offer rapid same-day HIV testing. Know your status.

Comfort Levels Around Pozzers

Andrew Sullivan points out an updated survey just published by Kaiser. Even in 2011, more than half of the respondents say they aren't comfortable having their food handled by HIV+ people. Embiggen for details.

Broadway Bares XXI

Last night Father Tony and I attended the 21st annual edition of Broadway Bares, the bawdy and deliciously raunchy fundraiser by Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS in which dozens of buff chorus boys and girls writhe and expose it all to the delight of several thousand gay men. See Tony's possibly NSFW slideshow here. Among last night performers were Tony winner and the evening's emcee, Beth Leavel, as well as David Hyde Pierce and Judith Light. It really is one of the most spectacular events on Broadway.

LGBT History: San Francisco & HIV/AIDS

Technically, this is an ad for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Interesting, nonetheless.

(Via - David Mixner)

HIV Map Of America

Wired Magazine reports:

With HIV’s 30th anniversary around the corner, a new interactive map reveals U.S. data on the disease down to individual counties and, for some cities, even zip codes. The nonprofit mapping effort, called AIDSVu, isn’t a perfect representation of the disease in the United States. The visualization is based on 2008 data, some states didn’t contribute county or demographic information that others did, and the map shows only diagnosed rates and cases. An estimated 1 in 5 HIV carriers in the U.S. are undiagnosed. Despite these limitations, it may be the most thorough geographical depiction of HIV ever created.

(Tipped by JMG reader Nicholas)

HomoQuotable - Dan Savage

"The first adult authority figure that I came out to who wasn't a member of my family: my pediatrician. I'd been seeing him since I was a child and he was still my doctor. After my third or fourth visit about 'a small skin blemish,' he asked me what I was really worried about. I remember what I said to him: 'I'm gay and I don't want to have AIDS.' I don't remember what he said to me, but I'll never forget the look on his face. It was this combination of pity, panic, disappointment, and judgement. I never saw him again." - Dan Savage, in a post marking the first year of AIDS in the United States.

AUSTRALIA: Christianist Group Forces Removal Of Safer Sex Campaign

An anti-gay Christian group in Brisbane, Australia has forced an outdoor advertising company to yank a just-launched safer sex campaign. The ads featured a fully-clothed gay couple holding an unopened condom.

Adshel, the company that provides advertising for Brisbane's bus shelters; Goa Billboards; and the Advertising Standards Bureau were targeted in an orchestrated campaign by the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL). Healthy Communities executive director Paul Martin said it was extremely disheartening that Adshel had buckled. "Those of us who have been around fighting HIV in Queensland for a while will remember this kind of reaction from days gone by," he told AAP. "We certainly don't expect it in 2011."

ACL was trying to have gay people "erased from the public sphere", Mr Martin said. "It's an extreme minority of people who are very well organised and are able to launch this kind of action," he said. "The vast majority of Queenslanders support gay and lesbian rights." ACL Queensland director Wendy Francis said she objected to the sexual nature of the ads, not the fact the couple pictured were gay. Ms Francis was last year forced to apologise publicly after a Tweet likening gay marriage to legalising child abuse.

Photo Of The Day - SF AIDS Ribbon

A giant AIDS ribbon has been installed on San Francisco's Twin Peaks in observance of the 30th anniversary of the epidemic. The ribbon, which can been seen for many miles, will remain on the hillside until it's replaced by the giant pink triangle which appears in that space every year on gay pride weekend.

(Tipped by JMG reader James)
[Photo Credit: Thomas Levinson]

HIV Hysteria From The NY Post

The reliably yellow journalists at the New York Post have outraged AIDS activists with a front-page claim that the hotel maid at the center of an rape scandal lives in subsidized public housing for HIV patients. The Post darkly warns that alleged rapist and International Monetary Fund head Dominque Strauss-Kahn now "has more to worry about" than a lengthy prison sentence. Housing Works weighs in angrily:

“Once again the New York Post proves that they are happy to trample on human dignity to sell newspapers. There is no public interest in knowing this woman’s HIV status—yet the woman herself could suffer greatly from the revelation,” said Housing Works President and CEO Charles King. “The Post’s story is an attack on women and all people with HIV.” The Post story intensifies the stigma surrounding AIDS by implying that HIV is an inherently horrifying disease.

The woman's lawyer this morning denied the Post's claim, saying she "absolutely" does not live in housing for people with HIV. But the story has already been picked up in France, where a new poll revealed that almost half of the nation believes the entire case was a set-up meant to derail the political ambitions of Strauss-Kahn, who was widely pegged to become the next president.

Quote Of The Day - Barbra Streisand

"I’ve endured Larry Kramer’s outbursts in the past, not wishing to dignify them with a response. But at a time when we are all pulling together to achieve such giant steps toward gay equality, it is anguishing to me to have my devotion to this cause so distorted. I think my efforts for the gay community and my immersion in securing its constitutional entitlement and other equitable rights is quite evident and a matter of record. [snip]

"I think it’s unfair to blame me for the movie [The Normal Heart] not getting made. After all, Larry has had the rights for the last 15 years and he couldn’t get it made, either. Those are the facts, and none of this is news to Larry. More recently, he sent me a note before giving the project to another director, asking me again if I wanted to direct it—but only with his screenplay. As a filmmaker, I couldn’t have my hands tied like that. What if I needed to make changes? What if I needed to have something rewritten? Sadly, I turned his offer down and wished him well. It’s been very hard for me to find a piece that I feel as passionate about. I will always believe in Larry’s play and its powerful theme about everyone’s right to love." - Barbara Streisand, responding to Larry Kramer's claim that she wanted to to rewrite the movie to make the doctor character (to be played by Babs) the real star.

Full Streisand's full response on her website.

Linda Harvey: End All Safer Sex Education

"This is the statistical face of deviance, out-of-control lust, and desperation. Most of the campaigns in this country to prevent HIV/AIDS do not take a strong stand against these unnecessary behaviors, but instead, talk around them and try to teach people to manage their misbehavior better. The numbers tell the story: it's not working. What is that old definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. We are throwing away hundreds of millions of dollars in HIV prevention that ignores the elephant in the room, or maybe throws him an occasional peanut." - Mission America hate group leader Linda Harvey, calling for the complete elimination of safer sex education.

GMHC Responds To Ruben Diaz

Majorie Hill, CEO of the Gay Men's Health Crisis, has issued a statement directed at NY state Sen. Ruben Diaz, who has again scheduled a massive anti-gay rally on the same day as the AIDS Walk in Central Park.

Sadly, in the mid-afternoon on the 15th, a march against same-sex marriage will be hosted by state Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. in the Bronx.We are distressed that Senator Diaz would focus his attention on increasing homophobia which is a lethal driver of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A recent study reported that gay couples who are affirmed in their relationships are less likely to place themselves at risk for HIV. Similar findings by other studies have shown that anti-gay bullying and other forms of homophobia can place lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals at higher risk for HIV.

Research has also shown that same-sex marriage has disproportionately positive effects for gay and lesbian couples of color. From our work each day, we know that homophobia and stigma still affect people living with HIV/AIDS and can create barriers to accessing healthcare and support.GMHC as an organization and AIDS Walk New York as a fundraiser promote social justice, equality and equal access for all. To show support for people affected by HIV/AIDS and solidarity for same-sex couples who will soon have the same human rights as heterosexual couples, New Yorkers are encouraged to join us and walk for AIDS Walk New York."

It sounds a bit like Hill is discouraging counter-protesting at the Diaz event.

(Via - Steven Thrasher @ Village Voice)

Smithsonian: 30 Years Of HIV/AIDS

On June 3rd, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will launch an exhibit and website devoted to examining the 30-year history of the AIDS pandemic.

“HIV and AIDS Thirty Years Ago” will look at the public health, scientific and political responses in the early phase (1981-87) of the global pandemic. This showcase will be located in the museum’s “Science in American Life” exhibition, which focuses on the connections among science, culture and society in American history. The display will feature photographs, magazine covers and other graphics plus equipment that Dr. Jay Levy used to isolate the virus in his lab at the University of California, San Francisco, a copy of the Surgeon General’s 1986 report presenting the government’s position, samples of the drugs AZT and Retrovir and public health information pamphlets from AIDS service organizations. The website will be available at here.

In “Archiving the History of an Epidemic: HIV and AIDS, 1985-2009,” the museum’s Archives Center will show how individuals and society were affected by the epidemic through a selection of archival materials from its collections, including posters for the 1993 movie Philadelphia with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington and the 1989 film Longtime Companion; brochures, photographs and other popular culture materials; and quotes from oral histories of people affected by the epidemic.

Quilt panels from the Names Project will be part of the exhibit.

African HIV PrEP Study Halted

Citing poor early results, researchers have halted an African study in which women were given the HIV medication Truvada as a preventive to infection. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been considered one of the more promising advances against AIDS.

Women taking Truvada, made by Gilead Sciences Inc., are just as likely to get HIV as other women who have been given dummy pills, an interim analysis of the study found. Even if the study were to continue, it would not be able to determine whether the pills help prevent infection, since the results are even this far along, researchers said. The finding is disappointing because another study last fall concluded that Truvada did help prevent infections in gay and bisexual men when given with condoms, counseling and other prevention services. Many AIDS experts view that as a breakthrough that might help slow the epidemic.

Last month the U.S.-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation denounced a similar study for gay men, saying, "There is no magic pill." Truvada costs as much as $14,000/year in the United States, but is available in generic form overseas for as little as $140/year.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation Denounces PrEP Study: There Is No Magic Pill

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is denouncing the study of using existing HAART medications as a daily preventive for HIV infection. From their website, No Magic Pills:

AIDS Healthcare Foundation takes the matter of HIV prevention very seriously. We are concerned about the implications of a recent study of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) using Gilead Sciences, Inc.’s drug Truvada using 2,500 gay men and showing a 44% effectiveness rate in preventing HIV transmission. AHF supports continued research on HIV prevention, but opposes quick fixes that run the risk of contributing to the spread of HIV and drug-resistant viruses. Our community must consider these issues if we are going to offer up hundreds of thousands of gay men for this totally misguided experiment.

Jeff Berry, editor of Positively Aware, responds to a full-page ad published by AHF in this week's edition of the Windy City Times.

Of course there is no magic pill. There has never been, and never will be, a one-size-fits-all method to prevent the spread of HIV. And for those populations who may be at higher risk, or who may not have the luxury of having all of the tools at their disposal (for example men or women whose partners are unwilling or unable to use a condom or other form of protection), if they could use a microbicide gel or even a pill to lessen their risk, why would we not want that?

Oral PrEP (if proven safe and effective), vaginal and rectal microbicides, condoms, risk-reduction and adherence counseling, treatment as prevention—all of these and other methods must be allowed to be fully explored and studied. We owe it to ourselves, our partners, our families, our friends, and to future generations. We cannot and must not allow politics or fear tactics to trump science—we are better than that. To do any less is a disservice to those whom we purport to serve.

VIDEO: Positively Aware writer Keith Romell explains PrEP.

NYC Women & HIV/AIDS

In observance of this week's National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, the New York City Department of Health has issued the above infographic, which is part of their NYC Knows campaign to get every city resident tested for HIV.

(Tipped by JMG reader John)

Mark King On Florida's ADAP Crisis

More than half of the nation's AIDS patients who are on waiting lists to get medications are in Florida. Last week Sen. Bill Nelson wrote both the president and Florida Gov. Rick "Medicare Fraud" Scott, warning of a catastrophic public health crisis over the lack of ADAP funding. In the below clip, South Florida AIDS activist Mark S. King lays out the situation and what can be done about it.

CDC Issues Interim PrEP Guidance

Last last year researchers announced some success in preventing HIV among gay men who were taking a daily dose of the HIV medication Truvada. The concept of warding off infection by pre-dosing with a medication is known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP.) But alarmed by the prospect for abuse, yesterday the CDC issued some interim PReP guidance as studies continue.

CDC says it wanted to fend off improper use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (or, more catchily, PrEP) as it and other agencies work on more detailed guidelines, which will take “several months.” It says that the drug should only be used in men who have sex with men, since studies in other high-risk groups such as IV drug users are still underway. And it should be used only in high-risk men (with multiple partners or partners from an area with a high prevalence of HIV infection), who are most likely to benefit. Also, the drug isn’t the equivalent of the morning-after pill for HIV; it’s meant to be taken daily. “Support for adherence to the prescribed medication regimen must be a routine component” of PrEP, the CDC says. (In the study, the risk of HIV infection was reduced just 21% in men whose adherence was less than 90%, compared to a 73% lower risk of infection for those with adherence of 90% or better.) And other preventive measures, such as condom use, should continue to be taken.

The wholesale cost of Truvada in the United States is $1000 for a month's supply, a cost unlikely to be covered by insurance when the drug is used as a preventive. In some countries, Truvada costs as little as $12/month.

Larry Kramer: AIDS Is A Plague That Was And Is Allowed To Happen

As the world approaches the 30th anniversary of the first noted cases of AIDS, famed activist Larry Kramer publishes a typically blistering editorial for CNN International in which he shouts that AIDS is a plague that was allowed to happen. And still is. An excerpt:

Governments and bureaucrats and presidents and politicians and the people who run this world lie to people. They tell us HIV is under control. They tell us case numbers are decreasing. They tell us that all is being done that can be done. They tell us HIV is too complicated to eradicate. They tell us gay people and people of color have made more progress than ever before. These are all lies. [snip]

For some 30-plus years, I have been trying to tell the world where this plague came from and why, and I will continue to do so until I die, too. You see, I simply can't get the memories and the ghosts of just about every friend I had out of my life. And since there is no doubt in my mind that this plague of HIV/AIDS that took them from me was and continues to be allowed to happen, I am duty bound to tell this hideous history as best and as fully as I can. It's the least I can do. That is correct: This plague of HIV/AIDS was intentionally allowed to happen. It still is. Nothing has changed in the intentionality department. Hate has a way of hanging around forever and too often winning out in the end.

Please read Kramer's full piece, especially his "ten realities about AIDS." And read the comments, where AIDS denialists and anti-gay Christians are rushing to attack.

February 9th In NYC: amfAR Gala With Elton, Dionne, Gladys, And Stevie Wonder

On February 9th, amfAR will host its New York City gala where Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Elton John will reunite for a performance of their Grammy-winning smash single That's What Friends Are For, which was recorded 25 years ago as a fundraiser for amfAR. To date, the single has raised more than $3M for AIDS research. Honorees at the 2011 black tie gala will be former President Bill Clinton, Elizabeth Taylor, and Diane von Furstenberg. The evening is a special tribute to amfAR founding chairperson, Dr. Mathilde Krim. Also performing: Liza Minnelli and violinist David Garrett.

Get tickets here.

RELATED: That's What Friends Are For was written by longtime Dionne Warwick collaborator Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. It was first recorded by Rod Stewart in 1982.