February 23, 2024
AVAC's weekly Pandemic Watch provides a curated perspective on what COVID news is worth your time.

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MEDIA COVERAGE
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** Long-acting Injectables May be Better Than Daily Pills for People with Adherence Challenges ([link removed])

Antiretroviral treatment using monthly cabotegravir and rilpivirine injections is more effective than daily pills for people who have had difficulty achieving good adherence and maintaining viral suppression, according to an announcement this week from ViiV Healthcare.
FEBRUARY 23, 2024 | PrEP | aidsmap
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** Long-lasting HIV Jab Marks ‘New Era for Prevention’ in Africa ([link removed])

An injectable version of PrEP, which offers protection against the virus for up to two months, is rolled-out in Zambia.
FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | PrEP | The Telegraph
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** Are Evidence-Based Medicine and Public Health Incompatible? ([link removed])

Behind many pandemic-era debates are deep divisions between two schools of thought in the world of health care.
FEBRUARY 21, 2024 | General | Undark
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** There is a ‘Worrying’ Resurgence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Gauteng ([link removed])

There’s a comeback of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in South Africa and around the world. The Gauteng Department of Health recently reported an increase of newly acquired STIs, in particular gonorrhoea and chlamydia. This spike in cases call for management guidelines and awareness programmes to be reviewed.
FEBRUARY 21, 2024 | STIs | Spotlight
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** Paul Farmer and the Audacity of Accompaniment ([link removed])

A tribute to Paul Farmer, a global health pioneer and founders of Partners in Health who passed away in 2022, this article reflects on his idea of "accompaniment"—an emphasis on empathy, equity and social justice for the economically disadvantaged and marginalized.
FEBRUARY 21, 2023 | General | Think Global Health
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** Hydeia Broadbent, HIV and AIDS Activist, Dies at 39 ([link removed])

Born with HIV in 1984, she began raising awareness on television when she was 6 years old.
FEBRUARY 21, 2024 | General | New York Times
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** Doxy-PEP to Prevent Bacterial STIs: Proceed But With Caution ([link removed])

Current data supports the use of doxy-PEP in cisgender MSM and transgender women to prevent bacterial STIs but critical issues about safety and antimicrobial resistance still need to be answered.

A reasonable approach in the interim is to confine doxy-PEP to those with a bacterial STI in the last 12 months while gathering more data. Additional studies in women, low-income countries and in the Black and Hispanic population are needed.
FEBRUARY 20, 2024 | STIs | ContagionLive
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** A Drug Shortage Makes it Harder to Treat a Surge in Syphilis Cases ([link removed])

There's been an alarming surge nationwide in syphilis cases. As cases increase, providers are having to ration penicillin shots, which are in short supply.
FEBRUARY 20, 2024 | STIs | NPR
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** Unequal and Inadequate: U=U communication from South African healthcare providers ([link removed])

People living with HIV in South Africa expressed a lack of awareness, confusion, and scepticism regarding U=U, according to a recent qualitative study published in PLoS ONE.

Healthcare providers acted as gatekeepers and expressed fears that U=U knowledge would lead to increases in condomless sex.
FEBRUARY 15, 2024 | General | aidsmap
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** Joe Rogan and Bret Weinstein Promote AIDS Denialism to an Audience of Millions ([link removed])

Weinstein repeated discredited theories to Rogan about HIV not being the cause of AIDS, alarming and infuriating public health experts.
FEBRUARY 15, 2024 | General | Vice
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** Survey: Only half of women with HIV remember discussing contraceptives with a provider ([link removed])

Many women with HIV reported using contraceptives in a survey, but just over half remembered having a conversation with a provider about them, results showed.
FEBRUARY 15, 2024 | General | Healio
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** CDC: Many factors contribute to high HIV risk for trans women ([link removed]≻=news&id=331486)

Several factors, including discrimination, homelessness, and violence, help explain why transgender women have a higher risk for HIV, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
FEBRUARY 14, 2024 | General | Bay Area Reporter
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** Study Reports That PEPFAR Funding Affects More Than HIV Care ([link removed])

Funding through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) not only helps to improve health, but also positively impacts a wide range of other national indicators, including economic growth and retention in school, a modeling study found.
FEBRUARY 13, 2024 | General | TheBodyPro


PUBLISHED RESEARCH
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** My Way: Development and preliminary evaluation of a novel delivery system for PrEP and other sexual health needs of young women in Western Kenya ([link removed])

Young women in sub-Saharan Africa are a priority population for HIV prevention, yet challenges with adherence and persistence to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are common. This study involved the development and pilot testing of My Way-a novel delivery system for PrEP and co-packaged sexual health services.
FEBRUARY 23, 2024 | PrEP | J Int AIDS Soc
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** Perceptions of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV Prevention Among Men Living with HIV in the Context of Reproductive Goals in South Africa: A qualitative study ([link removed])

Despite PrEP implementation in South Africa, awareness of PrEP among men with HIV in rural areas remains low. Engaging men living with HIV to support their partners in accessing PrEP could be an innovative strategy to promote HIV prevention. Additionally, providing men with comprehensive reproductive health information can empower them to make more informed decisions, adopt safer sexual practices, and challenge societal norms and stigmas around HIV.
FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | PrEP | BMC Public Health
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** A Pilot Program of HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis in Thai Youth ([link removed])

Daily oral PrEP with FTC-TDF in high-risk Thai adolescents is feasible, accepted, well-tolerated, and had no increased risk compensation; however, low adherence was a major challenge. Adolescent-specific PrEP strategies including long-acting modalities are needed for successful HIV prevention.
FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | PrEP | PLoS One
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** Ending the HIV Epidemic in Black America: Qualitative Insights Following COVID-19 ([link removed])

Themes directly speak to recommendations to adjust education and policy strategies for HIV and COVID-19 prevention and intervention. Such recommendations, (1) amplifying Black voices, (2) investing sustainable dollars into Black communities, and (3) leaning into advocacy, can bolster the foundation for the HIV workforce and Black community to break ineffective response patterns and lead the fight against these systemic issues of inequity.
FEBRUARY 22, 2024 | General | J Racial Ethn Health Disparities
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** pH-sensitive Dual-preventive siRNA-based Nanomicrobicide Reactivates Autophagy and Inhibits HIV Infection in Vaginal CD4+ Cells ([link removed])

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a novel nanomedicine loaded with genetic material called small interfering RNAs (siRNA) to fight HIV using gene therapy.
FEBRUARY 20, 2024 | General | Journal of Controlled Release
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** Filling in the Gaps: Updates on doxycycline prophylaxis for bacterial sexually transmitted infections ([link removed])

This review addresses the evidence on doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy-PEP) for prevention of bacterial STIs, including efficacy, safety, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), acceptability, modeling population impact and evolving guidelines for use.
FEBRUARY 9, 2024 | STIs | Clinical Infectious Diseases
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** Microsecond Dynamics Control the HIV-1 Envelope Conformation ([link removed])

Observing the rapid opening and closing of a glycoprotein on the HIV virus's envelope, within just microseconds, is offering researchers fresh insights into the virus's surface. Broadly neutralizing antibodies may be able to attach to this small structure, inhibiting its ability to open, an avenue for vaccine research.
FEBRUARY 2, 2024 | Antibody Related Research | ScienceAdvances
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** Adults on Pre-exposure Prophylaxis have Faster Clearance of Anti-HIV Monoclonal Antibody VRC01 ([link removed])

Researchers are developing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to prevent HIV, which can be used alongside existing oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in clinical trials. In a study of 48 US participants who received the HIV-1 mAb VRC01 and stayed HIV-free, a further analysis showed that in PrEP users, VRC01 was cleared from the body 0.08 L/day faster and had a 14% lower efficacy in preventing HIV-1 compared to non-PrEP users.
NOVEMBER 28, 2023 | Antibody Related Research | Nature
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