#HIV awareness

[reasonsforhope]

"A large clinical trial in South Africa and Uganda has shown that a twice-yearly injection of a new pre-exposure prophylaxis drug gives young women total protection from HIV infection.

The trial tested whether the six-month injection of lenacapavir would provide better protection against HIV infection than two other drugs, both daily pills. All three medications are pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) drugs.

Physician-scientist Linda-Gail Bekker, principal investigator for the South African part of the study, tells Nadine Dreyer what makes this breakthough so significant and what to expect next.

Tell us about the trial and what it set out to achieve

The Purpose 1 trial with 5,000 participants took place at three sites in Uganda and 25 sites in South Africa to test the efficacy of lenacapavir and two other drugs.

Lenacapavir (Len LA) is a fusion capside inhibitor. It interferes with the HIV capsid, a protein shell that protects HIV’s genetic material and enzymes needed for replication. It is administered just under the skin, once every six months.

The randomised controlled trial, sponsored by the drug developers Gilead Sciences, tested several things.

The first was whether a six-monthly injection of lenacapavir was safe and would provide better protection against HIV infection as PrEP for women between the ages of 16 and 25 years than Truvada F/TDF, a daily PrEP pill in wide use that has been available for more than a decade.

Secondly, the trial also tested whether Descovy F/TAF, a newer daily pill, was as effective as F/TDF...

The trial had three arms. Young women were randomly assigned to one of the arms in a 2:2:1 ratio (Len LA: F/TAF oral: F/TDF oral) in a double blinded fashion. This means neither the participants nor the researchers knew which treatment participants were receiving until the clinical trial was over.

In eastern and southern Africa, young women are the population who bear the brunt of new HIV infections. They also find a daily PrEP regimen challenging to maintain, for a number of social and structural reasons.

During the randomised phase of the trial none of the 2,134 women who received lenacapavir contracted HIV. There was 100 percent efficiency.

By comparison, 16 of the 1,068 women (or 1.5%) who took Truvada (F/TDF) and 39 of 2,136 (1.8%) who received Descovy (F/TAF) contracted the HIV virus...

What is the significance of these trials?

This breakthrough gives great hope that we have a proven, highly effective prevention tool to protect people from HIV.

There were 1.3 million new HIV infections globally in the past year. Although that’s fewer than the 2 million infections seen in 2010, it is clear that at this rate we are not going to meet the HIV new infection target that UNAIDS set for 2025 (fewer than 500,000 globally) or potentially even the goal to end Aids by 2030...

For young people, the daily decision to take a pill or use a condom or take a pill at the time of sexual intercourse can be very challenging.

HIV scientists and activists hope that young people may find that having to make this “prevention decision” only twice a year may reduce unpredictability and barriers.

For a young woman who struggles to get to an appointment at a clinic in a town or who can’t keep pills without facing stigma or violence, an injection just twice a year is the option that could keep her free of HIV.

What happens now?

The plan is that the Purpose 1 trial will go on but now in an “open label” phase. This means that study participants will be “unblinded”: they will be told whether they have been in the “injectable” or oral TDF or oral TAF groups.

They will be offered the choice of PrEP they would prefer as the trial continues.

A sister trial is also under way: Purpose 2 is being conducted in a number of regions including some sites in Africa among cisgender men, and transgender and nonbinary people who have sex with men.

It’s important to conduct trials among different groups because we have seen differences in effectiveness. Whether the sex is anal or vaginal is important and may have an impact on effectiveness.

How long until the drug is rolled out?

We have read in a Gilead Sciences press statement that within the next couple of months [from July 2024] the company will submit the dossier with all the results to a number of country regulators, particularly the Ugandan and South African regulators.

The World Health Organization will also review the data and may issue recommendations.

We hope then that this new drug will be adopted into WHO and country guidelines.

We also hope we may begin to see the drug being tested in more studies to understand better how to incorporate it into real world settings.

Price is a critical factor to ensure access and distribution in the public sector where it is badly needed.

Gilead Sciences has said it will offer licences to companies that make generic drugs, which is another critical way to get prices down.

In an ideal world, governments will be able to purchase this affordably and it will be offered to all who want it and need protection against HIV."

-via The Conversation, July 3, 2024

[liberaljane]

Zero stigma, Zero AIDS-related Deaths & Zero New HIV Infections.

Created with Getting to Zero Massachusetts

Digital illustration of a group of people of different ages, races, sexualities, genders and abilities. In the center is a Black woman holding a sign that reads, 'together we can end the HIV epidemic.'

[b33viemm]

QUEERS FOR CEASEFIRE WORLD AIDS DAY

X

ID in alt click for higher quality

[rumforall]

Keith Haring

“Stop AIDS”

[pansy-placebo]

*+°✨🪷💮~ Remember to get tested, everyone ~ 💮🪷✨°+*

Anyone can catch or carry an STI!

It's always better to know for sure than than to live in the dark, because you can't treat an infection you don't know you have, after all.

Many STIs are asymptomatic when you first catch them, so it's important to check even if you don't have any symptoms.

There are many options available for getting tested, from visiting your local sexual health clinic or your doctor, to ordering (usually free) test kits online which come in discreet packaging. There's no reason not to! :)

Reblog to spread this reminder, because it's vitally important to get tested once a year.

[ladyimaginarium]

hey y'all it's indigenous aids awareness week in "canada" as well as aids awareness month !! reminder that indigenous people are disproportionally affected by hiv/aids especially in rural & northern communities ! it's a time to raise awareness, share knowledge & start conversations, reduce fear & stigma, honor indigenous people living with hiv/aids, & by remembering friends, family, & community members who have passed away from hiv/aids, & support those w/ hiv/aids, especially hiv+ indigenous people !! we also disproportionally lost a lot of queer natives, especially queer native men, alongside the black community & latino community to hiv/aids during the aids epidemic in the 80's !! & it's an important time to take care of ourselves mentally, emotionally, physically & spiritually !!

listening to the wisdom & teachings that indigenous people living with hiv/aids have to offer us is essential !! please take the time to watch this Strong Medicine video where indigenous people living with hiv/aids share how culture & wellness are foundational to their treatment, HIV prevention & care, as well as how western therapies & treatments are another important element & how it's important to balance the two !! IAAW is tied closely to mmigw2s activism !! i& actually didn't know this but disabled people are disproportionally affected by hiv/aids as well !! i'll& let the pictures say the rest!!

it's highly encouraged that if anyone can provide ID's for this one for anyone with screenreaders that'd be really great !! i'll& rb those versions as as well !!

to anyone living with hiv/aids & especially to hiv+ indigenous people: i& love you SO much. we& love you SO much. & we& wish you a long happy & healthy life where you feel so much joy you feel like you're gonna burst !! your status does not define who you are !! ily !!

[overly-hubristic-mad-scientist]

I just learned the prEP is something you take to AVOID HIV and not something you take after the fact to treat it

[kapyushonchan]

Patient Zero tv series 1-8 episodes, English subs

Translation is complete.

USSR, 1980s. The Elista Children's Hospital is experiencing the country's first major HIV outbreak, with more than 70 children and several adults infected. Now everyone - doctors, patients, relatives - needs to preserve human dignity in the face of a terrible disease for which there is no cure yet.

[theiconicmeghanmarkle]

We are very honored to have the support of Prince Harry.

Allies are so important to the HIV community and so important to help break down the stigma still associated with the virus.

[lugarn]

a note on talking about HIV/AIDS:

if someone "died from the HIV", they died from AIDS. they did not die from HIV and it is a misnomer to say so.

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. if left untreated, HIV always eventually causes AIDS the same way untreated syphilis always eventually gets in your brain. AIDS is a specific set of conditions that mean your immune system is not functioning and is heavily affected by HIV.

i know, it's weird, right? a little bit like naming tertiary/late-stage syphilis an entirely other thing! but the naming convention for HIV/AIDS exists because we had AIDS (and before it GRID) as a diagnosis for quite a while before scientists discovered the virus that caused it. this was directly due to homophobia & hatred of drug users; if the virus had been given the attention it needed when it emerged we'd probably not have the HIV vs AIDS distinction.

but we do, and it's important, so please know that it exists and what each word means.

thank you!!

[eyelessjerk]

Went on a date today with An Angel From The Bible to the art museum and they had Jordan Eagles work displayed.

[lgbtq-archives]

𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐬 | 𝐀𝐈𝐃𝐒 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬

[metz-n-matteo]

Help our friend Shad Cruz (pictured second from the right) raise funds for his AIDS/LifeCycle @aidslifecycle journey. It is a 545 mile cycling trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The donations support life-saving services offered by San Francisco AIDS Foundation @sfaidsfound and the Los Angeles LGBT Center @lalgbtcenter.

Donate here!

[srnofficial-thesequel]

MEEETING

Group this week is 9/28/23. Topic is over HIV awareness and STD misconceptions/preventions.

Room is the Delta room

[vulpine111]

A selfie I took at tonight's vigil for World AIDS Day.

[ayurvedikindia]

World Aids Day 2023: Measures to Prevent Infection

Explore crucial measures to prevent HIV/AIDS infection on World AIDS Day 2023. Learn about safer sex practices, PrEP, early detection, and more. Stay informed and join the global fight against HIV