Most recent by Melanie A. Thompson, MD
Many teens, young adults unaware of risks tied to unprotected oral sex
In a recent survey, more than 20% of teenagers and young adults said that a lack of education was the reason why many youths do not use protection when engaging in oral sex.
Patients on failing HIV regimens achieve viral suppression with long-acting lenacapavir
Subcutaneous lenacapavir in combination with an optimized background regimen led to sustained virologic suppression in 81% of heavily treated people with HIV at week 26, data from an ongoing phase 2/3 study showed.
Gilead seeks FDA approval for lenacapavir, a long-acting HIV treatment
Gilead Sciences submitted a new drug application to the FDA for the approval of lenacapavir, an investigational, long-acting HIV-1 capsid inhibitor that is given subcutaneously every 6 months.
HIV incidence down 73% since 1980s, but racial, ethnic disparities remain
The annual incidence of HIV in the United States declined 73% from a peak of 130,400 infections in 1984 and 1985 to 34,800 infections in 2019, according to estimates published today in MMWR.
US orders 200M additional COVID-19 vaccine doses amid ‘wartime effort’ to address shortages
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said this week that the government has ordered an additional 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine that he expects will be available by mid-summer.
FDA approves first long-acting injectable regimen for HIV
The FDA approved the first long-acting injectable regimen for HIV treatment, Cabenuva, which includes shots of cabotegravir and rilpivirine given just once a month.
Ending the HIV epidemic in black communities requires more than staying the course
The slogan of this year’s National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was “Stay the course, the fight is not over!” Yet for health professionals and people living with HIV, or PLWH, “staying the course” is simply not good enough. The “blackening” of the HIV epidemic in America has been going on for decades, and now blacks account for 43% of PLWH and 45% of deaths among PLWH, while making up only 12% of the U.S. population. Georgia, where I practice, has the highest rate of new HIV diagnoses among states, and blacks there account for nearly three-quarters of new diagnoses. Although new diagnoses have decreased nationally overall, among black gay and bisexual men the rate has continued at a steady pace, starkly illustrating that our progress in both treatment and prevention is not sufficiently reaching those who need it most. Transgender populations, especially those of color, are largely not counted but they experience especially severe disparities.