Florida Agenda

By Nicholas Snow

How many friends have I lost to AIDS

?  How many ACT-UP protests have included my voice?  How many safer sex discussions have I participated in?  How many counseling sessions, self-help seminars and 12-step meetings have I attended?  How many times have I, as a columnist, radio personality and television host shared the wisdom garnered from such experiences with those who would read, listen or watch?  And most importantly, how many friends have I lost to AIDS?

The answer to each of these questions is “Countless!,” but clearly not enough to prevent me, in a collision of passion, depression, denial and poor judgment, from contracting HIV in August of 2007.  In many interviews since I have stated, “I became HIV positive decades into the AIDS epidemic, completely armed with the knowledge to protect myself.  It’s still a bit shocking to me.”

Three years after exposure I began taking antiretroviral medications.  My side-effects are vivid dreams and a spike in my cholesterol which may be treated soon with additional medication.  As far as HIV is concerned, I have had no other noticeable health consequences with the exception of the terrible, lasting, flu-like illness that occurred weeks after my exposure, one that left me sitting face to face with an infectious disease specialist in a Bangkok hospital who said, “Your symptoms could be the result of recent acute HIV infection.”  What?!?!

I played dumb.  I did not share that I had recently had unprotected sex.  I left with a scheduled follow-up appointment I never showed up for.  About five months later, on January 3rd, 2008, I confirmed my HIV status at an anonymous testing site, a New Year’s resolution of sorts.  I still could not believe this had happened to me.  In the coming months, I wanted to die, and unlike previous depressions (periodic because of life circumstances, nothing chronic), I actually looked up on the internet painless means of suicide.

I had to ask myself the question most likely going through your head right now.  Why, knowing what I know with the life experience that I have, would I consciously (and while sober, eight years-plus at that point, thank you) participate in unsafe sex?  I have come up with these answers:  1) I was with someone who said and believed he was HIV negative; 2) I was depressed; 3) I did not know (or had conveniently suppressed) how high the incidence of HIV was in the city in which I was residing; and 4) I had a false sense of security because I had remained negative so far into the epidemic.  NONE of these reasons are good reasons, but they are human reasons.

Before I could go public about my status to hopefully prevent others from following in my footsteps, I needed to tell my mom, step-dad, family and close friends.  On October 1st, 2008, I came out to my mother as being HIV positive.  She was very loving in her response.   Here is a journal entry from that day:

“Wow.  I had done it!  The most important part of my journey was over.  I had told my mother, and in telling her, I realized that she is the most important person in my world, the person I love the absolute most, and I am so grateful, and on the verge of tears as I write this, that she is my mother.  She has done the best she could and she didn’t’ do all that bad.”

On March 17th, 2009—the morning after a spectacular conversation with my mom and step-dad on the occasion of their 32nd wedding anniversary—as the result of an error during an outpatient laboratory test, seemingly almost as suddenly as I am telling you, my mother died.

For about two years, from April 2008 to April 2010, I kept a journal that I will be turning into a book, entitled Life Positive—A Journey from the Center of my Heart.  A bit part of this story is the creation of The Power To Be Strong HIV Testing/Safer Sex Song & Music Video Campaign, and I invite you to download MP3 for free at www.SnowbizNow.com.

What can one say?  I endeavor to rise above pride and ego.  HIV empowered me to do this with my mother.  I will cherish her memory forever, and dedicate each day of my life to more healing.­­­­

Follow Nicholas Snow online at  www.Facebook.com/SnowbizNow, www.Twitter.com/SnowbizNow, and at www.SnowbizNow.com. Follow “The Power To Be Strong” HIV Testing / Safer Sex Awareness Campaign at www.Facebook.com/PowerToBeStrong.

Photo: Dab Garner travels the world bringing awareness to HIV/AIDS and  helping the children living with the  disease.

By BOB KECSKEMETY

Dab Garner, if he didn’t already hold a place in the medical history books, would hold a place in history for the good he does for others.

Now in its 22nd year, Garner is bringing cheer to children suffering with HIV/AIDS during this holiday season through his “Dab the AIDS Bear” project.

In 1982, Garner became friends and godfather to a little girl affected with AIDS. In fact, she was the first little girl born in San Francisco with HIV. The child was an orphan and her mother died shortly after,  then Candice, the little girl, was born. The mother did not know who the father was. To make matters worse, Candice was also born deformed.

Garner himself was diagnosed with HIV earlier in that year on Valentine’s Day and immediately became an activist. He went to the hospital where Candice was being taken care of and noticed how Candice was being cared for in the pediatric AIDS unit.

“It struck me how horrible it was that even the nurses in the ward would not pay attention to this little girl. As you can imagine in the ‘80s, nobody wanted a child with HIV much less a deformed one so my second partner and I became her godparents. Back then, as a gay couple, we couldn’t legally adopt her.”

Garner and his partner shopped all year for Christmas presents for Candice as Christmas was Candice’s favorite holiday.

Candice died when she was 4-1/2 years old in August. At her bedside, Garner promised the dying child that he would make other children like her feel loved and special.

Garner remembered that at the time, there were about a dozen other children with HIV in the San Francisco Bay area, so he and his partner divided up the toys he had already bought Candice and gave those to the other children. He also gave each and every one of them a teddy bear.

This gesture of kindness and caring for others started an organization that has grown exponentially. Garner explained that he started looking for other kids afflicted with HIV and every two years would add another city and added more children to his Christmas list – first Los Angeles; then New York. Twenty-two years later, Garner reaches out to 21 cities, both in the United States and abroad with his special brand of caring and love.

“Candice is the whole reason I do this,” Garner explained, “I’m keeping the promise I made to a dying little girl.”

How is Garner’s health having been diagnosed with GRID (what AIDS was referred to back then) in 1982? Garner is doing fine. He said that according to the National Institute of Health, he’s the third longest living survivor they know of still living with HIV/AIDS. He was also the first person in San Francisco to make it out of hospital quarantine alive.

“Back then,” Garner explained, “there were no privacy laws to keep [AIDS patients’ names] out of the newspapers or anyone from disclosing my HIV status so my name, picture and status were published in the newspaper. I never really had a choice whether I was going to be out concerning my HIV status – it just was. I was raised by parents that taught me to make the best of my situation and to help those less fortunate than myself.”

Garner said that back in 1985, then-President Ronald Regan wouldn’t even mention HIV or AIDS.

“In 1985,” he said, “several of us chained ourselves to the White House to get President Reagan just to say ‘HIV.’” He also explained that he was fortunate enough to work with Elizabeth Taylor and Senator Ted Kennedy to get Ryan White funding started.

Garner moved to South Florida just over a year and a half ago. “I moved down here because South Florida has the highest incidence of new HIV infections in the country,” he said.

Garner also works with the Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County health departments to help with their HIV prevention programs.

“For the most part, it’s been very, very positive,” said Garner when asked how his AIDS Bear project has been accepted.

“I travel the world to about 120 to 150 events a year, speaking at AIDS walks, AIDS rides, HIV conferences , gay prides, women health fairs – just about to anyone who will put me behind a podium to help prevent the spread of HIV while helping those that are already infected.”

When Garner speaks, he tells people to get tested on a regular basis, not only for HIV but for other STDs. He explains that there are now medications to keep people alive. But he warns that it is important to be diagnosed while a person is still healthy because not only does it give you a better chance of living with HIV, but it also allow you to start medication while your T-cell count is higher, the lessening the side effects.

“The other major point I like to make,” said Garner, “is that in Florida and 13 other states, we have a waiting list to get assistance through ADAP (AIDS Drugs Assistance Program). I go to DC once a month and lobby for more funding because we have a waiting list of over 3,000 people in Florida and a total of 9,000 throughout the country. People can help just by picking up the phone or sending an email by contacting the elected officials.”

For more information about Dab Garner and the Dab the AIDS?Bear Project, please visit the website at www.dabtheaidsbearproject.com.

By ANTHONY JOHNSON

Now that December 1st and World AIDS Day has passed, I can rest and reflect on the reason why after almost 17 years of being diagnosed HIV positive, I am able to CELEBRATE it today. It is because many amazing men, women, and children fought the fear and stigma associated with HIV and AIDS by our government and peers. These people, these advocates, these angels have given freely their time, their energy, and their hearts to assure that generations to come would not have to suffer the fate of those who came before. I wish I could list all the names of the men, women, AND children who have fought for my right to live a healthy, happy, productive life. However, there is not enough paper in the world to list all who have fought over the last 30 years nor can any monument do them justice. Their unwavering dedication and courage forced the government and healthcare providers to provide services that helped individuals like me receive care so desperately needed

to survive and thrive. In fact, it is because of these advocates that the state of Florida finally released funds that will assist its residents in acquiring medications that they need to remain healthy and alive.

For the last 30 years, these advocates, these angels have brought communities together all working for the same ultimate goal, a cure for a human disease called HIV. There is no cure as of yet, no magic bullet, but these advocates promote, encourage, and demand that science be allowed to continue research and work towards discovering a vaccine and a cure.

I cannot continue without also saying thank you to the many advocates that are unknown to us who work behind the scene with individuals directly affected by HIV/AIDS in the communities where they live. These are the people, the angels who volunteer their time, give of their heart, and share their love with those who many times are discouraged or dismayed due to stigma and fear. They are indiscriminative and supportive of those who live in the shadow of discrimination and ignorance. These are the people who stand with us, not against us when we walk the street at night on World AIDS Day carrying a candle for those we have lost and for the battle that we are facing ourselves.

These advocates, these friends, these AMAZING ANGELS OF HOPE AND GUIDANCE have been fighting for years to assure that generations to come will have the medications, healthcare, and dignity that is our human right. And although we have come a long way over the last 30 years in achieving this, there is a long way to go and I know that many of these angels have tired and need our help and our support in continuing this fight. This battle will not be over until every HIV positive man, woman, and child has equal access to care and services. This fight will not end until there is a vaccine for HIV and cure for AIDS. Because of this, I have joined in the fight to rid the world of stigma, fear, and discrimination that people living with HIV/AIDS are facing and to advocate for equal care and equal rights for all.

I now ask of you, no CHALLENGE you to join these advocates, our angels and do what you can to help promote, encourage, and assure that the needs of all people living with HIV/AIDS are met. The only way that we as a community, as a nation, as a world can win this battle is by joining together, hand in hand, working with each other, in support of one another.

Once again, to the many advocates, the ANGELS HOPE AND GUIDANCE that fight and have fought for my right and the right of others to live a healthy, happy, productive life, I want to say thank you. Know that I love you for allthat you have done and still do to this day. I will never forget that you are all my ANGELS OF HOPE AND GUIDANCE!

Anthony Johnson

Anthony Johnson is the organizer of BOLT, a group that is HIV centric  but is open to the whole GLBT community. He can be reached by email at  aejtyger243@gmail.com and you can find BOLT?on facebook, twitter and Youtube.

ATLANTA, GA – US health officials at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that only 28% of the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV have the infection under control increasing the risk that they will spread the disease to others.

The CDC went on to say that a big part of the problem is that one in five US adults infected with HIV do not know it.

People can be infected with the AIDS virus for years without developing symptoms. Of those who are aware, only half receive ongoing medical care and treatment.

To reach groups at the greatest risk, the CDC is launching a new campaign urging regular testing for black gay and bisexual men, a population in which both HIV and syphilis infections continue to rise.

By Nicholas Snow

Whether we like it or not, we’re all going to have one — a cause of death that is. As another World AIDS Day comes and goes, let’s have a reality check, shall we? I’m not writing this column to depress you, but rather to empower you. If you are reading this, you can be sure that you are alive.

You can also be sure that you fall into the first, second and/or third of the following categories:

1) You are HIV positive and you know it; 2) You may be HIV positive but have not been tested recently (or at all); 3) You were HIV negative upon your last test.

I came out of the closet before there was such a thing as an HIV test. The year the test arrived, and for over a quarter century, I was “HIV negative upon my last test,” but all of that changed on January 3, 2008, approximately five months after I became HIV positive because I did not use a condom when I should have. Yes, it took me five months to gain the courage to have the test as a New Year’s resolution.

I had been very good at maintaining safer sex practices for virtually my entire adult life, having turned eighteen years old in 1980. So what changed? Why did I have unsafe sex? 1) I was depressed at the time and not as focused on taking care of myself; 2) I was with a partner who said and believed he was HIV negative; and 3) I had a false sense of security about remaining HIV negative so far into the epidemic.

NONE OF THESE ARE GOOD REASONS for not having used a condom, but they are human reasons.

For millions of people throughout the world who do not have access to antiretroviral medications, HIV is a death sentence. For the tens of thousands of people each year who learn they have HIV not because of a test, but because they became sick with AIDS-related opportunistic infections, HIV is often a death sentence. For the thousands of HIV positive people (or more) who cannot tolerate or develop a resistance to antiretroviral medications for one reason or another, HIV is a death sentence.

This is to all dispel the myth, “If I get HIV, I can just take a pill and everything will be okay.”

So here’s my own newsflash as a result of attending an HIV/AIDS medicine symposium last year—as an HIV positive person, in spite of having access (so far) to some of the most modern antiretroviral medications in the world, I can very well have a shortened lifespan because of HIV.

For those of you who have remained HIV negative, please don’t buy into the myth that should you become positive all you have to do is take a pill and everything will be okay. Play safely. Stay negative!

To give meaning to my own mistake and hopefully prevent you from following in my unsafe sex footsteps, I
created “The Power To Be Strong” HIV Testing/Safer Sex Awareness Campaign, the cornerstone of which is a song with a music video subtitled in 20 languages (including Spanish) at YouTube.com/ThePowerToBeStrong.

But can a song make a difference in people’s lives?

Yes. How many people turn to music in their time of sorrow? How many listen to love songs when they have a broken heart? How many people are inspired by songs such as “The Wind Beneath My Wings?” Now a song exists to address the fears and concerns of someone who may have HIV. Recently I received a message from a Facebook user explaining that only two people In the world know he is HIV positive, and he went on to say: “I listen to your song every morning and it gives me the strength to face my day.”

My gift to you in the homestretch to the New Year as you consider your own resolutions, go online and visit www.SnowbizNow.com, and look for the “Free Song” link in the main menu bar to download “The Power to be Strong.” Remember, “Get Tested and Live Longer and Be Strong!”

I’d like to conclude by sharing one of my favorite quotes from Goethe:  “Whatever you can do or dream you can do, beg in it.

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it Now!”

SnowBiz Florida Agenda

Follow Nicholas Snow online at  www.Facebook.com/SnowbizNow, www.Twitter.com/SnowbizNow, and at www.SnowbizNow.com. Follow “The Power To Be Strong” HIV Testing/
Safer Sex Awareness Campaign at www.Facebook.com/PowerToBeStrong.

Alex Vaughn

No, five grand per month is not what I earn. Nor is it, as some claim, what I outlay monthly on my grooming or clothing. Five thousand dollars a month is what someone could expect to pay for HIV medication in Broward County.

If you don’t have insurance that is the minimum it would cost you for the crucial medications that would keep you alive. If you have insurance, it’s a different story. Otherwise, five grand is your bottom line – not including doctor’s visits or anything other than the pills themselves.

Since many people here in Florida don’t have medical coverage, and state AIDS programs are completely underfunded, then you are pretty much screwed.

In this economy, you would be very lucky to be pulling in $5,000 per month. Would it be possible for anyone to expect someone to spend their entire paycheck solely on meds without even taking into account basic living expenses?

Well the answer is yes. Yes, it is very possible to expect because, as with every healthcare system all over the world, it is flawed. If you earn below a certain amount, you can be eligible for a program that will cover your meds. However, once you exceed that cap, you will be dropped. So realistically without insurance, if you exceed the cap, the only way to do it and to pay for your meds would be to pull in the salary of a banker.

Why does this happen? Well partly due to the fact the state can’t pay for everyone’s meds who don’t have insurance. The money simply isn’t there.

The bigger question, however, is how can the drug companies justify the expense, when countries all over the world including the UK offer HIV meds for free? Well that in itself is an explanation. The US HIV positive individuals are largely contributing to the funding for the drugs for all over the world!

As World AIDS day arrives, we can look back over 30 years of a disease that has changed the face of the globe and put the gay community’s progress back immeasurably. The question everyone asks is why has a cure not been found? Why is there still no complete vaccine?

We hear every so often in the news about “being close to a cure,” about vaccines,  and about new ways of using drugs to prevent infection in the first place including the use of Truvada. Yet realistically, there seems to be a major stick when it comes to the cure.

Many argue this is because the drug companies don’t want to find a cure. They are making far too much money off the drugs they offer currently. In addition as highlighted by Christian Alexander in the Florida Agenda a few weeks ago, they are no longer focused on producing new medications. Instead, they are recombining and configuring older medications to ensure that patents exist and that generics can’t be offered at a lower cost in their place.

From an outsider to the pharmaceutical industry, as many of us are, it seems the companies are so busy redesigning the drugs that they have lost sight of the aim of drugs in the first place; to help keep people alive.

The worrying part of this perceived loss of focus is found in those for whom the new combinations haven’t worked . Their only hope now is a miracle. These people are not responding to the old drugs in new packaging, just as they didn’t respond the regime in its old format. They are asking the question we all should be asking–where are the new meds?

Many people are still arguing that the medical research community has all but abandoned the search for a cure, saying that a vaccine and treatment are more viable routes to take because many people are able to survive due to antiviral drugs, turning HIV into a chronic condition rather than a death sentence.

In the news this week alone, there has been talk of a cure. The information comes from a man who had treatment for leukemia and through an intense bone marrow procedure, now tests as HIV negative. Though promising, this type of treatment is not logistically possible as a cure. In addition, it is extremely risky.

The reason it was successful is because the donor was in the 1% of people who are naturally immune to HIV. Scientists have noted that these special donors lack the CCR5 gene, which is a protein on the surface of immune cells that the virus uses as an entry portal.

This has led scientists to explore this further, yet they are clear to say it could be years, if ever, that a cure is found. All of which leads us back to the question of why? With so much information, generated by the discoveries gathered over 30 years, shouldn’t there be a clearer goal of an AIDS-free generation in sight?

Finance is always key. According the New York Times just this week, The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says a cure is one of its top priorities, this year awarding grants that could total $70 million. More grants are coming. California’s stem-cell agency has committed a total of $38 million to three research teams over five years to fund projects intended to find a cure.

Companies like Merck, Gilead Sciences, Sangamo BioSciences and Calimmune have begun research.

As we observe World Aids Day, we have to remember those lost, and stand united in finding a cure. Donate money, talk to your doctors and do your research. Remember the one pill-a-day myth may not apply to you and, even if it does, you may need $5,000 a month to pay for it.

Alex Vaughn is the Editor-in-Chief of the Florida Agenda. He can be reached at editor@FloridaAgenda.com

By Christian Alexander

I may have sounded more than a bit cynical when it comes to medication, the doctor’s who prescribe them and the pharmacies that distribute them, but I have reason to be. I have been told by more than one doctor that if I didn’t take their medications for my HIV, I wouldn’t live long enough to follow any of my dreams. These were and are doctors – people I was raised to trust in and believe without question.

For a very long time, I played the good little patient and took their concoctions, all the while feeling worse on them than I did off. After an unscheduled “treatment holiday,” I just stopped taking my meds when my lover was dying. As distraught as I was over what I was going through and my up-coming nervous breakdown, physically I started feeling better. Then, my partner died. I spent more than a few days “resting” at a nearby hospital, all the while denying the HIV medication they wanted to shove down my throat.

When I got out of the hospital, I began drinking … heavily … and often. You know those miniature bottles of booze they serve on airlines? I had them stashed everywhere-around my apartment, in the glove box of the car, in the trunk of the car, hidden in my closets, stashed in my desk at work, hidden all around the spa that I ran. I mean everywhere. Breakfast, lunch and dinner for years.

Somehow I managed to keep up appearances, made it to work, didn’t have any car accidents and kept my quarterly doctor’s appointments for blood work. I had been mostly on and sometimes off my medications since my diagnosis in 1994. My number’s (T-Cells and later viral load) tests were never great, but they were never that bad.

Oddly enough, when I began to disregard my doctor’s orders and got to the stage where I could drink Karen Walker under the table, my numbers actually improved. For over four years, I’d get checked every three months and for four years, I was “ok.” Even though I didn’t feel I needed to be on the meds, the doctor’s spiel was always the same.” You need to be on medication,” and because I had learned a thing or two and argued with them, they never took me seriously.

When I destroyed my life in 2001, I went through detox and rehab. I stayed sober for nearly a year, then I got sick.  Very sick. Several days and two spinal taps, sick. I joked with my doctor that if this was sobriety, I was going back to the bar. He disregarded me, gave me new medication to take. After the scare I had in the hospital, I was inclined to take them. Long story short, it got a lot worse before it got better.

Having been on one of the meds, I was on led to my tranquilizer addiction. I always thought it rather ironic that they would give a known alcoholic heavy duty tranquilizers, but back then, I didn’t know what it was and wasn’t about to question the doctor.

The more I have thought about it, the pharmaceutical companies are greedy. That’s business in America. They are out to make a buck just like everyone else. But, it seems now, we also have more disorders, depression, aches and pains and anxiety than we ever did in the past. Is it that society is under so much stress that our minds and bodies create problems that need to be fixed?  Or is it that the drug companies are creating the need through seeing these trends and are quickly coming up with medications to placate us.

Of course, there are drugs out there that do wonderful things for people. Cancer patients are living longer, although I am forced to question the price for that time. I’ve seen people go through chemo, it’s a literal hell with no guarantee that it will work.

I have no doubt that there will always be a real need for newer and better drugs, but I don’t see anything other than greed by changing a formula on a proven medication just to pad their pockets more.  Sure, an extended release tablet is more convenient, but what is this convenience worth when the older one is available generically for a tenth of the price?  Which do you choose:

convenience or cost? Especially with some insurance companies cutting off paying for the “older” drug in favor of funding the “newest” formula.

Stay healthy, but if you do fall ill, ASK QUESTIONS!!!

By Colleen Robb

Living with HIV can be challenging; discovering that you have cancer when you are HIV positive can be devastating. Henry Martinez, a resident of Wilton Manors for nearly fifteen years, has made it his mission to not only share his story and raise money for cancer research, but also to let the HIV positive community know that going through treatments in South Florida is not the best option.

After a visit to the University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Henry discovered that his doctors in South Florida were simply not equipped or prepared to treat someone with cancer who is also HIV positive. The South Florida doctors were too aggressive with surgical procedures, negligent in his recovery process, and recommending treatments that Henry would probably not survive, due to his suppressed immune system.

Unfortunately, the discovery that Henry had received sub-standard medical care was made a little too late. Henry has already undergone several surgeries, one of which has left him without an anus, just an opening that allows him to not be dependent on a colostomy bag. The recovery process for this aggressive surgery nearly killed him.

The surgery left Henry with a gaping wound approximately four to five inches long, two inches deep and two inches wide on each internal butt cheek. After Henry returned home, his dressings needed to be changed at least seven times a day due to bleeding.

However, when Henry was discharged from the hospital, they arranged for a nurse to come to change his dressing just once a day.

They also failed to provide him with dietary instructions and, as a direct result, Henry suffered from many complications and a lot of unnecessary pain.

The only reason Henry was able to survive through the home care process was because his long-time friends flew from San Francisco to help. The nurse showed his friends how to change his dressing.

The results of the surgery were disappointing, but Henry’s doctor seemed pleased that only 30% of the skin graft remained intact.

Henry’s oncologist recommended chemotherapy and radiation as soon as his wound healed a bit more, and his doctors installed a port in his chest in preparation for treatment.

Prior to the chemotherapy and radiation, Henry flew home

to San Francisco where his sister arranged for him to meet with doctors at the UCSF Helen Diller Cancer Center. Upon review of his medical history, and physical examination, the doctor stated that chemotherapy and radiation would be too dangerous for Henry, given his HIV and current condition. The doctor recommended an additional procedure to widen the margins and laser the affected areas, as it was clear the last procedure in Florida was insufficient.

All those that know Henry appreciate his enthusiastic and child-like personality. Henry has worked as a hair stylist, dog-walker & dog-sitter, and has always had a creative flair. Henry has a difficult journey ahead of him, but is prepared to continue fighting the cancer.

Henry also wants to prevent others from suffering through the poor medical care he was given and is sharing his story so that others can be spared the pain he went through. He is hosting a fundraising event for the UCSF Cancer Center on Sunday, October 23rd at 7 p.m. at the Manor to raise both awareness about this issue and encourage others in the same situation to explore medical options outside South Florida.

For more information, please call 954-817-6600.

LONDON, ENGLAND – The BBC has reported that the lifetime ban on blood donations by homosexual and bisexual men will be lifted in England, Scotland and Wales. Ministers have agreed to let men who have not had sex with another man in the past twelve months to donate starting in November. The restrictions were originally put in place in the 1980s to prevent the risk of HIV contamination. However, the latest medical evidence presented to a government panel argued the ban could no longer be justified.

Ministers in the three countries accepted the argument and said they would soon be relaxing the rules. Northern Ireland is expected to make a decision soon. The National Blood Service screens all donations for HIV and other infections. However, there is a “window period” after infection during which it is impossible to detect the virus.

ALEX VAUGHN

There is a new blue pill that is set to revolutionize our attitudes towards HIV and safe sex. I’d even go as far as to say that this pill will make us question the entire idea of sexual responsibility. The pill is Truvada PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and it is already available in a pharmacy near you.

Truvada has been widely used in the treatment of HIV positive individuals. However, as early as this year, the FDA is poised to approve the drug as a means to prevent infection. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already have in place a set of guidelines for using this pill as a prevention method against HIV.

In theory, this little blue pill has the potential to do as much harm as good, just like Viagra has. Of course with Viagra the situation is markedly different. As with all medications, Viagra comes with side effects and warning labels. It isn’t, or shouldn’t be, a daily pill. There is no regime to be followed. There is also a completely different minds

et attached to it. Viagra is not a preventative health aide; Truvada is.

The studies shown to determine the effectiveness of the pill as a preventative method were favorable, obviously leading to the FDA’s considerations. The variables and conditions to its success, however, are many and they are all relevant. The fear of course is those concerns will fall to the wayside when we are discussing the simplicity of one blue pill to protect you from the worst contagious disease affecting the community and the world.

When taken daily, Truvada had been shown to be 95% effective at preventing infection with HIV. Those who did become infected during the trial period were shown to not have enough of the drug in their systems indicating that these subjects did not adhere to the daily regime.

The study has clearly shown that one must be completely strict with the one-aday regime. Unlike Viagra, Truvada is not a “pop it on the weekend” sort of recreational drug. It is a lifestyle choice. With multiple partners and promiscuity, protection will not exist if one only pops a pill before hitting the hay.

In addition, the studies indicate that the best role for this pill is in relationships that are serodiscordant. Meaning one partner has HIV and the other doesn’t. In this situation, adherence is more likely as there is a strong mutual desire for protection.

Furthermore Truvada is not something you can pick up from a buddy with a party supply kit. It simply won’t work. You need to consult with an HIV specialist and determine whether it is for you, while noting that this is not a 100% protection against HIV.

Sex, as pleasurable as it is, comes with other risks, syphilis, HEP and a host of nearly 12 million other STDS. Truvada doesn’t protect you from any of these. Only condoms will.

This is undoubtedly a great step forward and an amazing change to the landscape of sexual interaction between partners of mismatched status. In addition with the hope that it remains successful, it will help breakdown prejudices towards HIV+ people.

That said, the danger of unleashing such a powerful statement into the community is astronomical. The reality is that the warnings are going to get lost in the simple message of “one little pill for HIV protection.” There will be many responsible people who will research, try, test and get to grips with this pill. There are more who will breathe a sigh of relief and pop a pill before they do the deed and think nothing of it.

This will also go a step to downgrade HIV further, from a dangerous and life threatening disease with potential complications to a totally manageable disease. After all, how bad can it be if you can prevent it with a little blue pill? The real danger is that this disease will no longer be seen as manageable with side effects, but rather as no big deal at all.

As HIV infections continue to rise in Florida, the need for prevention is undoubtedly present and the message needs to be loud and clear. Though the study was quick to indicate that condoms were offered free of charge and that their use in studies had increased, the reality is who will bear that in mind. If you are less than strict with your condom use, are you really going to become more stringent when you know you’ve popped a pill?

This “pop a pill” mentality is found not only within the community, but in the nation as a whole. You can’t watch TV for more that 20 seconds before some pill is being advertised, for something or other, from depression to restless leg syndrome.

Add the prospect of another pill, and it doesn’t faze or frighten everyone. It, in fact, makes life so much easier. Why worry about condoms or status when you just need to remember to pop a little pill everyday?

The flip side is that despite the fact that you are not sick, you are providing your body with a medication to which it may react badly, and all to avoid a condom? There is also the question of what happens if you do maintain the treatment, yet still fall into the 5% that contract the virus anyway. Have you screwed yourself ? Will your body have built a tolerance to one of the most widely used treatments for HIV?

It has been noted by the study’s doctors that resistance cannot develop with the use of this pill since actual infection has not taken place. However condoms remain the main protector. Unfortunately, at the same time, the same doctors noted that many people had already stopped using condoms. Truvada would offer another protection route.

The coverage of one-a-day medications complete with the shiny happy people on the HIV medication adverts suggests that life goes on. This has allowed a generation who never experienced the 80’s to have a blasé attitude to the disease. The real danger is that lost amid the excitement of the availability of Truvada, the horror of AIDS will be forgotten.

Alex Vaughn is the Editor-in-Chief of the Florida Agenda. He can be reached at editor@FloridaAgenda.com