U.S. to Remove HIV "Entry Ban"

By Christopher Bates

It has been an important few weeks for those of us in the HIV community—we just wrapped up the U.S. Conference on AIDS, President Obama signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009, and, as you may have heard, on Monday the U.S. took the next step in removing HIV from the list of diseases that prevent entry into this country. The repeal on the HIV “entry ban” will be effective in January of 2010. To learn more, read Secretary Sebelius’ press statement.

President Obama Signs the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009

By Christopher Bates, Director HHS’ Office of HIV/AIDS Policy

President Barack Obama and lawmakers applaud Jeanne White-Ginder, right, mother of Ryan White, during his remarks before signing the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009 in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House. October 30, 2009.

Today President Obama signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009. In his remarks at the signing, the President said, “over the past 19 years this legislation has evolved from an emergency response into a comprehensive national program for the care and support of Americans living with HIV/AIDS. It helps communities that are most severely affected by this epidemic and often least served by our health care system, including minority communities, the LGBT community, rural communities, and the homeless. It’s often the only option for the uninsured and the underinsured. And it provides life-saving medical services to more than half a million Americans every year, in every corner of the country.”

Capitol Hill Conference: Future Directions in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS

By Miguel Gomez

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of speaking about new media during the “Capitol Hill Conference: Future Directions in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS” co-sponsored by amfAR and Research!America . This event brought together international HIV experts, celebrity advocates, and government officials to talk about the importance of HIV research and a National AIDS Strategy. The day started with information from the recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey showing that Americans' sense of urgency about HIV has fallen and that we need to reinvigorate ourselves in the fight against AIDS.

CDC Publishes Interim Guidance for Clinicians on HIV and the Flu

by Miguel Gomez

Earlier this week we blogged about the recent flu and mentioned that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was finalizing interim guidance for clinicians for the management of patients with HIV who have been exposed to or who have contracted this flu. Yesterday, the CDC published Interim Guidance-HIV-Infected Adults and Adolescents: Considerations for Clinicians Regarding Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus.

2009 Flu and HIV

by Miguel Gomez

Our nation confronts a serious public health challenge, the 2009 flu outbreak (commonly referred to as “swine flu”). To learn more about the potential impact of this new outbreak on the HIV community we reached out to Richard Wolitski from the CDC and to local HIV care providers across the country.

We still have a lot to learn about this new flu. However, as we noted in our last post, all types of influenza may be dangerous for individuals with compromised, or weakened, immune systems—and that includes many people living with HIV.