AIDS

YouTube Sensation Todrick Hall to Headline Florida AIDS Walk

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 16, 2024

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS service organization, is partnering with entertainer Todrick Hall for the 19th Annual Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival , an annual spring break event that attracts more than 2,000 attendees and raises $2 million for 13 local nonprofit organizations providing HIV/AIDS services in the South Florida community.

Key Points: 
  • AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS service organization, is partnering with entertainer Todrick Hall for the 19th Annual Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival , an annual spring break event that attracts more than 2,000 attendees and raises $2 million for 13 local nonprofit organizations providing HIV/AIDS services in the South Florida community.
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240216304388/en/
    On Saturday, March 9th, AHF is partnering with entertainer Todrick Hall for the 19th Annual Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival, an annual spring break event that attracts more than 2,000 attendees and raises $2 million for 13 local nonprofit organizations providing HIV/AIDS services in the South Florida community.
  • Florida AIDS Walk and Music Festival also features informational booths on health and wellness services, children’s games, food trucks, and other family-focused activities.
  • Singer/songwriter and international DJ/producer DJ Citizen Jane will warm up the crowd before the 5k walk and concert.

Protesters Blast NACHC’s Self-Serving Deal with PhRMA, says AHF

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 15, 2024

This press release features multimedia.

Key Points: 
  • This press release features multimedia.
  • For more information on NACHC's deal with PhRMA: https://www.aidshealth.org/2023/03/community-health-centers-deal-walks-p...
    AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 1.9 million individuals across 45 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe.
  • To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org , find us on Facebook , follow us on Instagram , Twitter , and TikTok , and subscribe to our AHFter Hours podcast.
  • View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240215942709/en/

Rocket Lab Prepares to Bring In-Space Manufacturing Capsule Back to Earth for Varda Space Industries

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 15, 2024

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the reentry of Varda Space Industries’ (“Varda”) in-space manufacturing capsule, enabling Rocket Lab to commence a series of complex in-space maneuvers and de-orbit burns on the Rocket Lab-built and operated satellite currently hosting the capsule on orbit.

Key Points: 
  • Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the reentry of Varda Space Industries’ (“Varda”) in-space manufacturing capsule, enabling Rocket Lab to commence a series of complex in-space maneuvers and de-orbit burns on the Rocket Lab-built and operated satellite currently hosting the capsule on orbit.
  • In the coming days, Rocket Lab will conduct a series of maneuvers to bring the capsule, named Winnebago-1, back to Earth.
  • This mission is the first of four which will use identical Rocket Lab spacecraft to support Varda’s in-space manufacturing.
  • Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success.

City of Hope Research Featuring the Successful Treatment of the Oldest Patient to Achieve Remission for Leukemia and HIV Published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Key Points: 
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240214747351/en/
    "City of Hope Patient" Paul Edmonds with City of Hope doctors, Jana K. Dickter, M.D., and Monzr Al Malki, M.D.
  • Edmonds is also the person who had HIV the longest — for over 31 years — among these five patients.
  • Known as the “City of Hope patient” among these five patients, Edmonds received a transplant at City of Hope on Feb. 6, 2019, and is now considered to be cured of leukemia.
  • City of Hope has exceptional transplant outcomes year after year, according to the Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research.

AHF Sues Post Office Over Refusal to Deliver Mail to Tenants at SRO Buildings

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

AHF currently houses 1417 people in 13 SRO properties in Los Angeles.

Key Points: 
  • AHF currently houses 1417 people in 13 SRO properties in Los Angeles.
  • The Postal Service formally was served on the case – Shawn Jenkins and AIDS Healthcare Foundation vs. USPS, Louis DeJoy & Six … ( Case No.
  • California law requires landlords have an individual, locking mailbox for each SRO tenant.
  • However, the USPS is refusing to deliver mail into those individual mailboxes, instead dumping dozens or hundreds of people's mail into one big pile at the front desk of each SRO property each day.

AHF Rolls Out Condom Extravaganza for Sexy Holiday

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 12, 2024

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is celebrating International Condom Day – the day before Valentine’s Day – with worldwide activities highlighting the importance of using condoms to practice safer sex.

Key Points: 
  • AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is celebrating International Condom Day – the day before Valentine’s Day – with worldwide activities highlighting the importance of using condoms to practice safer sex.
  • AHF teams in more than 40 countries will hold events to educate on condom use, distribute free condoms, and encourage everyone to start or continue using condoms regularly.
  • In the U.S., AHF is staging its wildly popular, sold-out “ A Westside Story Burlesque Show ” in New York City, Chicago, and Washington, DC.
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240212959442/en/
    AIDS Healthcare Foundation is putting a provocative spin on this timeless love story in celebration of safer sex.

Reality Bites at 30: why the Gen X classic still stands up today

Retrieved on: 
Sunday, February 11, 2024

“I was really going to be something by the age of 23,” says Lelaina Pierce, played by the radiant Winona Ryder in the 1994 Gen X classic Reality Bites.

Key Points: 
  • “I was really going to be something by the age of 23,” says Lelaina Pierce, played by the radiant Winona Ryder in the 1994 Gen X classic Reality Bites.
  • Lelaina is a dissatisfied university graduate confronting the realities of life after graduation while making a documentary about her equally disaffected friend group.
  • Reality Bites continues to resonate with new generations of viewers.

A film for Gen X

  • Hawke’s brooding intellectual and Ryder’s luminous yet sardonic girl-next-door established personas for the duo that persisted throughout the decade.
  • Read more:
    Nostalgia, VHS and Stranger Things' homage to 80s horror

    The themes of the film are surprisingly relevant given the generational differences between audiences of the early 90s and today.

  • Despite clear generational differences in fashion, lifestyle and music, the response to the film by new audiences tends to be one of resonance and recognition.
  • Spoiler Alert: Lelaina forgives him for leaving, and their embrace and kiss is one of the final images of the film.

A worthy rewatch

  • Watching the film as an adult who is closer in age to Lelaina’s parents, the choice is less clear.
  • Whichever side you end up taking, the film’s rocking soundtrack, charming performances and snarky humour make it a worthy rewatch.
  • Read more:
    Baby boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z labels: Necessary or nonsense?


Adam Daniel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Nicholas Mastroianni II to Receive Knighthood in the Royal Order of Francis I

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

NAPLES, Fla., Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a distinguished ceremony on February 11, 2024, at The Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Nicholas "Nick" Mastroianni II will be knighted in the Royal Order of Francis I. The Order, established by the Royal House of Bourbon two centuries ago, honors individuals in various fields including business, science, and education for their monumental contributions to society. 

Key Points: 
  • NAPLES, Fla., Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a distinguished ceremony on February 11, 2024, at The Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Nicholas "Nick" Mastroianni II will be knighted in the Royal Order of Francis I.
  • The Order, established by the Royal House of Bourbon two centuries ago, honors individuals in various fields including business, science, and education for their monumental contributions to society.
  • "I am honored to receive this distinction from such a historic group as the Royal Order of Francis I which has recognized many great individuals," said Mr. Mastroianni.
  • The ceremony will celebrate Nicholas Mastroianni II alongside eleven other eminent individuals from Florida.

Lack of access to health care is partly to blame for skyrocketing HIV rates among gay Black men

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

But the medical achievements that have made those lives better and created longer life expectancies have not benefited all communities.

Key Points: 
  • But the medical achievements that have made those lives better and created longer life expectancies have not benefited all communities.
  • In fact, some communities still have higher rates of new cases of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
  • Black queer men are six times more likely to die as a result of HIV-related complications when compared with queer men of different races.
  • Finally, data released in 2016 revealed that if the rates then of new HIV cases persisted, an estimated 1 in 2 Black queer men would acquire HIV in their lifetime.

The question of risky behavior

  • The wide reach of HIV in the Black queer community is not due to members of that community having more sex, or using protection less, or having more partners than queer people of other racial or ethnic backgrounds.
  • In fact, long-standing studies have shown that when Black queer men have access to appropriate health care, they use condoms more often, and test themselves for HIV more often, than queer men of other races.
  • According to those studies, Black queer people have a higher risk of contracting HIV than those others because their communities are more tightly knit – despite behaving more safely than others.
  • As a result of social stigma and discrimination, Black queer men are more likely to have sexual relationships within their own racial group.

A perfect storm of racism and homophobia

  • But in order to receive PrEP, for instance, one must first locate a provider who is willing to prescribe the medicine.
  • There are examples of doctors simply refusing to prescribe it out of fear of “increased promisciuty.” This sentiment is often rooted in racism and homophobia.
  • Though HIV care and PrEP are broadly covered under the Affordable Care Act, that often means only the cost of the prescriptions.

Lowering the risks

  • My research typically uses interviews of Black queer men to better understand how Black gay men experience and face structural barriers such as access to testing and adequate housing.
  • Most men I interview are living with HIV and offer insights on their lived experiences and professional expertise with great vulnerability and power.
  • Another man I interviewed lives in Los Angeles and pointed out that the younger generation has had limited education about the risks of Black gay life.


Deion Scott Hawkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

AHF Hammers Gilead Over Continued Profiteering

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) continued its assault on Gilead Sciences in its ongoing advocacy campaign against the Bay Area drug maker over its voracious greed, patent manipulation, and obscene price hikes.

Key Points: 
  • AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) continued its assault on Gilead Sciences in its ongoing advocacy campaign against the Bay Area drug maker over its voracious greed, patent manipulation, and obscene price hikes.
  • “Gilead continues to place profit above all else at the expense of patients’ access to its lifesaving drugs, including its latest and safest drug formulations,” says Michael Weinstein, AHF president and cofounder.
  • “From suppressing a safer formulation of one of its key HIV drugs to price gouging on its Hepatitis C medications, Gilead remains a company in search of a moral compass.
  • To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org , find us on Facebook , follow us on Instagram , Twitter , and TikTok , and subscribe to our AHFter Hours podcast.