William “Bill” Arnold, a founder and leader of several advocacy groups beginning in the mid-1990s that helped secure federal and state funding for life saving drugs for people with HIV/AIDS, died at his D.C. home on Sept. 29 of complications associated with lung cancer, according to his friend and fellow activist Jim Driscoll. He was 83.
With the goal of beating HIV by 2025 domestically and a pledge for a renewed effort to fight the disease globally, President Biden has put in place officials charged with making that happen.
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country in children, another virus is making kids sick in unusually large numbers: respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV. Today on Wellness Wednesday on All Sides with Ann Fisher, what’s behind the surge of RSV. We’ll also talk about a Columbus City Schools mental health initiative with the Buckeye Ranch and then HIV prevention care.
An early stage clinical trial of an mRNA-based HIV vaccine could begin this month, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine clinical trial registry. This vaccine candidate uses technology developed by biotech company Moderna — the same technology used for its highly effective COVID-19 vaccine. The trial, which builds on earlier research by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and Scripps Research, would test the first stage of a multistep vaccine regimen. The eventual goal is to stimulate the immune system to produce broadly neutralizing antibodies that target multiple HIV strains.
Progress in reducing HIV infections has plateaued in the US. But with bipartisan support, federal funding and momentum in drug development there is reason for optimism, says HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute executive director Carl Schmid.