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.
Patient groups want CMS to require that insurers offer exchange plans that don’t include deductibles, that count drug company financial assistance toward deductibles and that spread out cost-sharing over the year. Insurers oppose those mandates. Those are among the requests from 40 patient groups that jointly commented on a proposed rule for the 2022 Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters.
n August 3 and 4, 2021, the President’s Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS (PACHA) held its seventy-first full meeting and streamed the meeting live on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website. Below are some highlights from the meeting. Carl Schmid, MBA, Executive Director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., and Co-Chair of PACHA, opened the meeting with brief remarks, including the announcement that the U.S. House of Representatives has voted for a $850 million increase in funding for HIV programs.