Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

CROI 2015 findings call for bringing PrEP for HIV prevention to scale
by Jim Pickett
2015-03-04

This article shared 5832 times since Wed Mar 4, 2015
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


"There is an urgent need to mobilize clinical efforts, service delivery, education, implementation research, and policy to optimize PrEP access and use," said UCLA's Dr. Raphael Landovitz in his compelling plenary address to the 4,000 participants of the 2015 Conference on Retrovirus and Opportunistic Infections ( CROI ) that took place in Seattle Feb. 23-26.

CROI attendees heard variations of this enthusiastic, insistent refrain everywhere, from session rooms to hallways at the Washington State Convention Center, spilling onto sidewalks, into bars and across farm-to-table restaurants across the city. Many likened this year to 1996, which ushered in combination therapy for HIV treatment, heralded the rise of highly effective protease inhibitors and called for a "hit hard, hit early" approach—a revolutionary, game-changing year.

This year was PrEP's "protease moment."

Two major trials among gay and bisexual men ( conducted in the United Kingdom, France and Canada ) reported extremely high rates of effectiveness at CROI. Both the UK's PROUD study and the French/Canadian IPERGAY studies reported an HIV risk-reduction rate of 86 percent. PROUD participants took Truvada as PrEP in a daily regimen. IPERGAY participants took their Truvada before and after sex, starting with a double dose two to 24 hours before sex, and one single-pill dose 24 hours after sex, and another single pill 24 hours after that. They were instructed to continue one pill daily as long as they were engaging in sexual intercourse.

"These results are extremely exciting and show PrEP is highly effective at preventing HIV infection. Concerns that PrEP would not work in the real world were unfounded," said Dr. Sheena McCormack, chief investigator of the PROUD study. As the study was only meant to be a feasibility pilot project, McCormack described her reaction to the high rates of effectiveness as "Wow, wow, wow!"

IPERGAY study coordinator Professor Jean-Michel Molina observed that "these very good results were obtained in MSM ( men who have sex with men ) at high risk of HIV infection who did not routinely use condoms" and observed that 34 percent of participants contracted other sexually transmitted infections during the study.

It is important to point out that the 86-percent effectiveness reported in both these studies included the small number of individuals who were not taking PrEP as instructed and consequently became infected with HIV. The 86 percent is a population level estimate. Individuals taking PrEP as instructed can expect much higher rates of protection, approaching 99 to 100 percent.

How does this research translate to Chicago?

"The truth of PrEP should spread like wildfire in the gay community. PrEP clearly can prevent HIV infection and save lives in Chicago. PrEP works!," exclaimed the University of Chicago's Dr. Renslow Sherer, who was at CROI. He mentioned that "work is underway in Chicago to model the possible impact of PrEP. We now have another powerful prevention tool to bring the annual number of new cases from 1,200 per year down by 30 percent ... or more."

"These two studies are important for PrEP implementation in Chicago for different reasons," said Dr. Sybil Hosek, a psychologist and PrEP researcher based at the Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center who also attended the conference. "The UK PROUD study demonstrated PrEP effectiveness in a real-world setting. The level of interest in PrEP shown by men who may benefit from it the most, along with the feasibility of implementing a PrEP study in public health clinics, suggests support for a strategy of PrEP clinics in public health settings in Chicago, such as the one we are starting at the CORE Center," she said.

Said Howard Brown Health Center's ( HBHC's ) CEO David Munar: "It is critical for agencies like ours to continue reaching our community with large-scale education and patient assistance to make sure that as many people who can benefit from PrEP gain access to it."

HBHC's PrEP coordinator Bryan Bautista-Gutiérrez elaborated on this theme. "We need to ensure that people get low barrier PrEP access and support on the city and state levels," he said. "We must pressure our government representatives and officials to support PrEP. We need to continue to fight for better and more competent medical care for all LGBT people, especially those disparately impact by HIV such as young gay and bisexual men and trans women of color, and working-class queers."

Regarding IPERGAY, Hosek said "the study is important because it provides evidence for a potentially new PrEP dosing strategy." Indeed, IPERGAY's dosing strategy offers a new way to potentially prescribe PrEP. At the same time, it complicates the messaging around taking PrEP which has, until now, called for daily dosing. The IPERGAY strategy has also not been proven to work in women or injection drug users—although clinical trials have proven that daily PrEP works for these populations.

"In the context of IPERGAY, what are we now going to recommend to our gay clients?" asked clinician and PrEP researcher Dr. John Schneider of the University of Chicago. "Shared decision making will be critical, and careful attention will need to be paid to determine whether daily PrEP, or PrEP before and afer sex, should be used. I may no longer be able to ask 'when was your last missed dose?' and have this information mean much in isolation."

Jeff Berry—editor of the locally produced, global Positively Aware magazine—delivered a word of caution for "event-driven" dosing of PrEP. "[This dosing regimen used in IPERGAY] is not yet approved in the United States or in the Truvada label," he said. "I think we still need to see more data to show how long you have to be on PrEP before there is enough drug in your body to reach the highest level of protection."

While there is an urgent imperative to capitalize on this historic moment in HIV history and scale up PrEP services, Munar mentioned another pressing need: "We must stop the shame and stigma around wanting to be protected against HIV. We need to applaud people who seek out education and PrEP treatment, because they are doing their part to help curb the epidemic."

Jim Pickett is director of prevention advocacy at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.


This article shared 5832 times since Wed Mar 4, 2015
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

HIV criminal laws disproportionately impact Black men in Mississippi 2024-02-21
--From a press release - A new report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that at least 43 people in Mississippi were arrested for HIV-related crimes between 2004 and 2021. Half of all arrests in the state ...


Gay News

'West Side Story' gets a sex-positive spin with new burlesque show 2024-02-19
- In partial observance of National Condom Day, which was Feb. 14, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented A West Side Story Burlesque at the Harris Theater for two hour-long performances on Feb. 17. The show, ...


Gay News

$200,000+ raised at AIDS Foundation Chicago's World of Chocolate Fundraiser to fight HIV/AIDS 2024-02-13
--From a press release - (Chicago, IL) More than 950 guests gathered at Chicago's famed Union Station (500 W. Jackson) for Chicago's Sweetest Fundraiser, AIDS Foundation Chicago's (AFC), World of Chocolate on Friday, February 9. ...


Gay News

Munar prepares to step away from Howard Brown leadership 2024-02-11
- After 10 years of leadership at Howard Brown Health, President and CEO David Ernesto Munar has decided to step down from his post on Feb. 29. Munar, who'd previously been president and CEO of AIDS Foundation ...


Gay News

National Black Justice Coalition commemorates National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2024-02-07
--From a press release - WASHINGTON — Today, Feb. 7, marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). In commemoration, Dr. David J. Johns, CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), a leading Black LGBTQ+/same-gender ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Wis. report, gender dysphoria, HIV research, Stonewall exhibit, gay CEOs 2024-01-19
- A new annual report from Wisconsin's Office of Children's Mental Health shows that the state's minors—especially girls, children of color and LGBTQ+ youth—continue to struggle with anxiety, depression and thoughts ...


Gay News

WORLD Activist honored, marriages in Estonia, Madrid law, trans sports item 2024-01-05
Video below - The National AIDS Commission (NAC) recently honored Caleb Orozco—a leading figure in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in Belize—for his instrumental contributions to the national HIV response, BNN reported. According ...


Gay News

SAVOR World of Chocolate, Jaleo and 'Superhot' 2023-12-31
- World of wonder: I am excited to announce that I will be a judge at AIDS Foundation Chicago's World of Chocolate fundraiser! Join me in sampling delicious chocolate from local chefs and help support a great ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Frankie Franklin-Foxx 2023-12-18
- Frankie Franklin-Foxx (born Waverlynn Franklin), a resident of Chicago's North Side, passed away peacefully Dec. 13 at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. She was 68. Born at Cook County Hospital, Frankie graduated from South Shore High ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Dr. Rachel Levine, World AIDS Day, trans deaths, Philly bar art 2023-12-08
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Liles C. Burke ruled that emails and other records from U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine are relevant to a lawsuit challenging Alabama's ban ...


Gay News

STRUT marks World AIDS Day with 14th Annual Fashion Show 2023-12-05
- On Dec. 3, John Fleming and Madman Productions presented the 14th annual STRUT fashion show at Joe's on Weed Street, 940 W. Weed St. As in previous years, the standing room only show was a fundraiser, ...


Gay News

World AIDS Day commemorated at AIDS Garden Chicago 2023-12-03
- On the rainy morning of Dec. 1, Chicago Parks Foundation and the AIDS Garden Chicago Board of Directors hosted a World AIDS Day commemoration at AIDS Garden Chicago, just south of Belmont Harbor on the Lakefront. ...


Gay News

GLAAD marks World AIDS Day with launch of global resource hub, new HIV report 2023-12-01
--From a press release - New York, New York — Friday, Dec. 1 — GLAAD marked World AIDS Day this year by sharing the results of its fourth annual State of HIV Stigma Report, a national survey among U.S. adults measuring ...


Gay News

Wrightwood 659 to present 'Daniel Goldstein: The Marks We Leave Behind' on World AIDS Day 2023-11-29
- (CHICAGO, Nov. 29, 2023) —Alphawood Exhibitions will present Daniel Goldstein: The Marks We Leave Behind, an exhibition of works from the San Francisco-based artist & HIV/AIDS activist's iconic "Icarian Series," ...


Gay News

WTTW doc chronicles the activism of Danny Sotomayor 2023-11-03
- Practically everything the late Chicago AIDS activist Danny Sotomayor did was "a fight." So says fellow activist Victor Salvo in the new WTTW documentary The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor, which is part of the station's Chicago ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.