Free Republic

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — A new Pennsylvania law will eliminate felony charges for prostitutes who knowingly had HIV at the time. Rep. Ben Waxman (D-Philadelphia), who co-sponsored the legislation to change the law, described it as "outdated" and "inhumane." "Today, HIV is a manageable condition that can be treated and controlled with medication," Waxman said in a release. "With a regimen of antiretroviral therapy, people with HIV can live long, productive and healthy lives and reduce transmission. We cannot criminalize anyone for their health status; it’s simply inhumane." The old law was able to elevate a misdemeanor prostitution charge to...

Activists Disrupt U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Jeff Graham at International AIDS Conference, Protesting Trump’s Chokehold on Congressionally Appropriated HIV Funding, Mass Closure of Key Population Programs, and Attacks on Transparent Oversight of PEPFAR Programs New Data Show Trump and Rubio Responsible for Severe Deterioration in Program Outcomes, Including HIV Treatment Cut for 77,163 Children, 42% Reduction in PrEP Enrollment, Closure of 1700 PEPFAR HIV Treatment Sites, and More Rio de Janeiro — Activists from directly impacted countries today [July 26] disrupted Senior State Department Official Jeff Graham, the acting US Global AIDS Coordinator responsible for PEPFAR [the U.S. President’s Emergency...

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is threatening to block two of President Trump’s ambassador nominees if the administration does not present evidence of progress on releasing funds to the President’s Emergency Plan For Aids Relief (PEPFAR), a government program which provides treatment for HIV and AIDS around the world. “The only way it seems like you can get the administration’s attention on some of these funding issues is by using the leverage to withhold votes on nominees,” Cornyn said in an interview with Semafor on Tuesday. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on which Cornyn sits, is scheduled to vote on the...

People living with HIV are about twice as likely as their HIV-negative peers to develop herpes zoster—better known as shingles—but vaccination can close the gap, according to a Canadian study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

There has been an increase in the number of new HIV cases in Ireland recently, with the number of new cases back to pre-COVID levels. HIV Ireland says that the country now has the second highest transmission rate per capita in Europe. A new report by the organization, which was developed with clinicians, researchers, advocates and people with lived experience from across Ireland and the UK, said that Ireland is unlikely to achieve its objective of ending new HIV transmission by 2030. […] Professor Yvonne Gilleece, a consultant in HIV medicine, has said that Ireland needs to increase testing rates...

Mediterranean voyage changes course twice after Turkey, then Egypt refuse accessThe Scarlet Lady cruise ship has changed its itinerary for the second time this week, after first Turkey and now Egypt denied it entry to their ports. The ship, owned by Virgin Voyages and chartered by 2SLGBTQ+ travel company Atlantis Events, is carrying 1,900 passengers, including legendary Broadway performer Patti LuPone. The passengers found out on Thursday the cruise would not be heading to Alexandria, Egypt, as a replacement for previously planned stops to Kuşadası and Istanbul in Turkey. Earlier this week, Turkish authorities canacelled the planned port calls, saying...

Some CD4 T cells infected with HIV can take on the characteristics of CD8 cells, according to a study published in Science. The researchers found that this transformed population of induced CD8 cells can still harbor latent HIV and contributes to the viral reservoir, which has implications for functional cure strategies. Antiretroviral therapy can keep HIV suppressed indefinitely, but the virus inserts its genetic blueprints into host cells and establishes a long-lasting viral reservoir that is impervious to the drugs and usually invisible to the immune system, making a true cure nearly impossible.

People who are HIV positive but are otherwise qualified to join the military can once again do so while a legal challenge to the Pentagon’s restrictions on military service moves forward, according to a federal appeals court order issued this week. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit clarified Tuesday that a lower-court order blocking enforcement of the restrictions has been back in effect since May 18, when the full court agreed to rehear the case. The order applies to applicants who are HIV-positive but asymptomatic and have undetectable viral loads through medication.

<p>The CIA then failed to comply with the DNI DIG’s oversight investigation, refusing to provide necessary information for investigators to understand why analytical standards at the CIA were violated. The CIA also illegally spied on the computer and phones belonging to DIG personnel, along with their investigations and contact with whistleblowers, Erdman alleges.</p>

Use of antiretroviral treatment may slow accelerated biological aging by nearly four years, according to study results presented at the Congress of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Munich (ESCMID Global 2026). ... People living with HIV are prone to developing comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and cognitive impairment, earlier than their HIV-negative peers. Despite antiretroviral treatment, HIV remains in the body and can cause persistent immune activation and chronic inflammation that leads to a host of health problems.

Almost 5,000 people in California are newly diagnosed each year with HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. The greatest burden of these new infections occurs in men who have sex with men and Black and Latinx people. Since 2012, four HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications have been introduced that, taken by people who do not have HIV, reduce the risk of getting HIV from sex by 99% and from a drug injection by at least 74%, according to the National Institutes of Health. To make the PrEP drugs more widely accessible, the state of California enacted two laws...

When it comes to the queer bar in the wild, so many threats exist, and it's only gotten worse in the past few years. Higher upfront costs combined with lower foot traffic have caused a nationwide problem for the service and food industries, which is exacerbated in queer spaces, which deal with smaller demographics than the average bar or restaurant. And of course, there’s the fact that many people, especially younger people, just don’t go out or have a third space anymore.

AFTER DONALD TRUMP was sworn in as president on January 20, 2025, he issued a flurry of executive orders that eventually saw online information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scrubbed from the Internet. Thousands of pages and datasets disappeared. Resources like “RSV Vaccine Guidance for Pregnant People,” “Preventing HIV with PEP,” and more, vanished. Suddenly, Americans could no longer turn to the nation’s premier public health organization for reliable information.

A three-member panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed the U.S. military to reinstate its enlistment ban for HIV-positive people, ruling on Wednesday that the ban was based on “rational concerns.” The Department of Defense (DOD) has a “rational basis” to exclude people with HIV from enlisting in the armed forces, Judge Paul V. Niemeyer wrote in his opinion, even those with undetectable viral loads whose treatment renders them unable to transmit the virus. The ruling reverses a Virginia district court’s 2024 injunction blocking the DOD’s enlistment ban, which had been in effect since the Pentagon instituted...

New York City officials plan to reraise a pride flag at the federal monument at Stonewall in Manhattan, setting up a potential fight with the White House at the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement nearly 60 years ago. Federal officials quietly took the flag down after the Trump administration in January issued guidance drastically limiting the types of flags that could be displayed at sites managed by the National Park Service. But Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said in an interview Tuesday that he and other New York City-area politicians would reraise the flag at the federal monument...

A popular honeymoon destination is the site of the Pacific’s fastest-growing HIV epidemic, with officials pointing to rising meth use as a key driver. In Fiji, HIV/AIDS cases are projected to double this year to more than 3,000, according to UNAIDS and Fiji’s Ministry of Health. Officials say drug use is fueling the surge across the Pacific island nation. In December, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a rapid assessment detecting unsafe injecting practices.

Federal and local authorities have uncovered what they allege was an illegal biological laboratory operating inside a Las Vegas home owned by a Chinese national. Newly released footage from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows a dramatic hazmat response as agents hauled bags of medical tubing, vials and containers filled with unknown liquids from the suburban property. During a press briefing on Monday, LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill revealed investigators discovered a 'significant volume of material' stored in refrigerators and freezers throughout the home, including vials and containers holding liquids of varying colors and compositions. Investigators also located 'pathogen-labeled containers'...

The Pentagon has ordered a pause on training new recruits living with HIV. What’s more, military leadership is considering reinstating a ban that prohibits Americans who are HIV positive from enlisting in the Armed Services altogether, reports CNN. A decision is likely to come down “in the next few weeks.”

Rejects President’s & House Republicans’ Extreme Cuts & Program Eliminations Washington DC… “After a tumultuous year of proposed program cuts and eliminations, Congress has agreed to reject them and instead has maintained funding for domestic HIV prevention and treatment programs on a bipartisan basis. Now, the Trump administration must focus its attention on properly implementing these programs in order to get the nation back on track to end HIV in the U.S.,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. In the final FY2026 spending bill released today by the Appropriations Committees, Congress rejected the House Republicans’ spending...

A couple of years ago, Matthew Hurley got the kind of text people fear. It said: “When was the last time you were STD tested?” Someone Hurley had recently had unprotected sex with had just tested positive for HIV. Hurley went to a clinic and got tested. “Luckily, I had not caught HIV, but it was a wake-up call,” they said. That experience moved Hurley to seek out PrEP, shorthand for preexposure prophylaxis. ... Hurley started PrEP and all was well for the first nine months — until their health insurance changed and they started seeing a new doctor: “When...