News from aidsmap
Major HIV vaccine efficacy trial ends early due to lack of protection for women
Imbokodo, one of a pair of major HIV vaccine efficacy studies, has been drawn to a close earlier than planned as results indicate that the vaccine did not sufficiently protect women in five southern African countries from HIV infection.
Untreated HIV, low CD4 count or unsuppressed viral load raise the risk of COVID-19 death in South Africa
People with HIV not on antiretroviral treatment were 45% more likely to die after admission to hospital with COVID-19 compared to people taking antiretroviral treatment, a large study of in-hospital deaths from COVID-19 in South Africa has concluded.
Could gene therapies be used to cure more people with HIV?
Medical science is starting to license and use drugs and procedures that change the genetic code inside the body’s cells, and to correct the ‘bad code’ that can give rise to conditions such as cancer and the auto-immune diseases. Since HIV is a disease that results from a virus inserting such a piece of bad code into our genes, such therapies could be used to snip out that code and effect a cure.
Fast-track drug refills prove the most common HIV service adaptation in Uganda
Healthcare providers and people with HIV in Uganda prefer clinic-based models of simplified HIV care to community-based models, Ugandan researchers report in the journal PLOS ONE. Convenience, confidentiality and contact with healthcare workers were judged more important to clients, so that clinic-based drug refill had been more widely adopted than other forms of differentiated service delivery, the study found.
US CDC recommends third dose of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for immunocompromised people
Immunocompromised people who received the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines should receive a third dose to improve their chances of developing an adequate antibody response, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended last month.
A vicious cycle: how food insecurity, violence, poor mental health, and substance use increase HIV’s impact on US Black women
A qualitative study among women in Atlanta and San Francisco has found a mutually reinforcing cycle of food insecurity, intimate partner violence, poor mental health, and substance use, which leads to increased risk of HIV infection among women and poorer health outcomes for women with it.
Dolutegravir-based regimens result in sustained viral suppression, despite lower adherence and treatment interruptions
A new study has found that antiretroviral therapy regimens based on the integrase inhibitor dolutegravir were more likely to result in sustained viral suppression, even in situations of poorer adherence and treatment interruptions, than regimens based on older drugs. Dolutegravir is branded as Tivicay and is also combined with other drugs in Triumeq, Dovato and Juluca.
Conclusive PrEP study in China paves the way for national provision for gay men
A Chinese study, comparing HIV incidence in 1222 gay and bisexual men who took HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with incidence in 507 men who chose not to take it, found five HIV infections amongst the PrEP users and 28 in the non-users. The study was presented at the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2021).
Video series: women ageing with HIV
In the fourth video from our series, Yvonne Richards shares her experiences of ageing with HIV.
This video has been produced as part of a collaborative project between the Sophia Forum, Positively UK, NAM aidsmap and the Institute for Global Health, University College London. The GROWS project, women living with HIV Growing Older, Wiser and Stronger, is a holistic modelled programme supporting women with their health, wellbeing and social care needs.
Editors' picks from other sources
Recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on a third COVID vaccine dose | BHIVA
Guidance for people living with HIV from the British HIV Association (BHIVA), National AIDS Trust (NAT) and Terrence Higgins Trust (THT).
How to speed-up PrEP rollout in sub-Saharan Africa | Avert
An evidence review has identified the main gaps in health systems in sub-Saharan Africa that need to be addressed to boost PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) scale-up.
PEPFAR's existential moment | CSIS
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has entered its most consequential, indeed its most existential moment. Several reasons stand behind this claim.
Booster shots alone won't protect immunocompromised people | STAT
The health of immunocompromised people depends on far more than a COVID-19 booster shot. What they – and the rest of us – need is more people in the general population to be vaccinated, and quickly, because the Delta variant is more transmissible and severe than the earlier predominant strains of SARS-CoV-2 and the virus could outsmart current vaccines and mutate – again.
News and bulletins from the International Liver Congress
The International Liver Congress, organised by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), took place in June.
As well as publishing news from the conference on our sister site infohep.org, we also sent out an EASL 2021 news summary bulletin in multiple languages.
You can read all the news from the conference and the bulletins (in English, French, Spanish and Russian – Portuguese coming soon) on infohep.org.
Nourish-UK: HIV and infant feeding study
Nourish-UK is a research study aiming to understand how new mothers or birthing parents living with HIV decide how to feed their newborn babies. The team is speaking to people living in the UK, who are pregnant or have given birth in the last year. Interviews will help the development of a new website for patients and health professionals.