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Forbes
31-07-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Two Shots A Year: How A New HIV Drug Is Tackling Stigma And Saving Lives
Today's HIV/AIDS transmission rate makes one thing painfully clear: the virus is no longer affecting just the LGBTQIA communities. In fact, if you're Black, straight, and living in America, the silence around HIV prevention might be putting you at greater risk than ever before. This quiet truth is what made the presence of Gilead Sciences – a biopharmaceutical company primarily known for its work in developing and delivering innovative therapies for diseases like HIV/AIDS– at this year's National Medical Association (NMA) Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly so crucial. With the launch of Yeztugo, Gilead's new injectable PrEP for adults and adolescents, the HIV prevention landscape is shifting. Offering six months of protection with just two injections per year, Yeztugo stands in stark contrast to existing PrEP regimens, which require a daily pill and quarterly visits for refills and lab monitoring. Dr. Debra Wafer, the public affairs, community engagement, and advocacy lead for Gilead's HIV treatment and prevention division, said the leap in convenience opens the door for Gilead to partner with healthcare providers, cultural influencers, and media to help rewrite the story around HIV/AIDS. 'The HIV epidemic at the beginning was defined by the white gay community and because of that definition, other communities didn't know that they were at risk,' said Wafer, a nurse practitioner and physician's assistant. 'Today we think of HIV as a transmittable virus that usually happens sexually,' Wafer continued. 'And I think we are trying to make sure that everyone knows that HIV, can be treated and people can live a long line, and also that HIV can be prevented, and we are not trying to be in one space, because whether you're LGBTQIA or not, if you're having sex and you don't know your HIV status, that is something that puts you at risk.' Speaking from a conference room deep in the heart of downtown Chicago, Gilead Sciences made it clear they aren't carrying this message alone. By choosing the NMA as their stage and partnering with Grammy Award-winning artist Raheem DeVaughn, Gilead and its allies are working to break the stigma around HIV/AIDS—and spotlight the healthcare providers and communities most at risk. Under the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Government Efficiency have gutted federal investments in HIV/AIDS testing, treatment, and prevention. The consequences are staggering: Black women now account for more than 50% of new HIV diagnoses among women, yet make up only 8% of PrEP users. While broader health inequities continue to devastate Black communities—including persistent barriers to quality care—recent years have seen a 16% drop in new HIV infections among Black gay and bisexual men, while cisgender Black women have experienced a sharp increase. Dr. Toyin Nwafor, executive director of U.S. HIV Medical Affairs at Gilead Sciences, said that disparity should serve as a national call to action. 'We must end the stigma that exists around HIV,' said Nwafor, a Chicago-based medical practitioner of more than two decades. 'If you are sexually active you're vulnerable to HIV and your vulnerability may be higher because of where you live, walk, pray, live and love, and in those communities, we need to make sure that that message is heard,' Nwafor continued in expressing what she described as Gilead's overall goal. 'So we're not stigmatizing or targeting individuals,' she said. 'but we're looking at what is happening in the communities that they live to make sure that they have access to treatment, to prevention and to programs that allow them to stay engaged in care.' For many in Black and Brown communities, improving access to care starts with expanding the knowledge base of healthcare providers—especially those who look like them. That's what makes NMA an ideal partner. As the leading voice of African-American physicians nationwide, the organization and its new president, Dr. Roger A. Mitchell Jr., are launching a year-long campaign titled The New Reconstruction. As part of the campaign, Dr. Mitchell and the NMA are calling for structural reforms that go beyond the exam room—because healthcare justice also means policy justice. This campaign's launch is happening amid Medicaid cuts that would gut the very infrastructure supporting HIV prevention and treatment. With nearly 40% of HIV-positive people dependent on Medicaid, slashing the program would disproportionately harm Black and Brown communities, undermining NMA's progress and that of other campaigns. 'Convening like this, brought together by Gilead Sciences, confirmed the importance of the intersection between media, medical industry and cultural influencers that joined in this partnership to end the HIV epidemic today,' Mitchell said. For DeVaughn—Grammy-nominated singer, chart-topping artist, father and PrEP user —talking about HIV and PrEP isn't just advocacy, it's literally part of the show. At his concerts, DeVaughn carves out time to speak directly to the audience about prevention, because he believes awareness is a form of care—and far too many in his fanbase are left in the dark. 'I've had direct contact with over 40,000 Black women,' DeVaughn said. 'Being able to talk about the statistics around HIV, how Black women—and Black and Brown folks in general—are disproportionately affected, and how prevention, PrEP, and breaking stigma can make a difference, is powerful. People need to know their options.' In DeVaughn's hometown of Washington, D.C., once one of the epicenters of the HIV epidemic in the '90s and early 2000s, the story is layered. HIV transmission rates among white gay men have dropped significantly, thanks to widespread PrEP use, access to care, and strong local prevention programs. Overall, the District has seen an 86% decrease in new diagnoses since the early 2000s, including in Black and Brown communities. But those declines still lag far behind the rates seen among white gay men—a reflection of the stigma and systemic neglect that persist in communities of color. DeVaughn said this neglect can be addressed by normalizing conversations at home, in providers' offices and in the community at-large. 'Regardless of your religious faith, your background,...your age, these are conversations that we have to have.' DeVaughn said. 'Generationally, we talk about dieting, Diabetes and sugar levels and I think we have to normalize the conversation about HIV.' Far too many Black and Brown Americans miss the opportunity to talk about PrEP and HIV prevention when they get their annual physical. Wafer said that has to change. 'It is important for healthcare providers to know who they are talking to, what they need and have a unique ability to translate the science in an understandable way,' she said. Nwafor, whose professional experience includes academic research and stints in inpatient and outpatient settings, a large public hospital, a university hospital, and a veterans hospital, expressed similar thoughts while stressing the importance of health care providers centering their patients' lived-experiences. For Black and Brown Americans, those experiences could have included moments of trauma and far too often, neglect, Nwafor said. 'What was clear over those past 20 to 25 years is that regardless of the patient population, regardless of the payer mix, there remained existing disparities in access to good quality care and the outcomes that disproportionately impact our communities, the Black community,' Nwafor said. With Yeztugo now available in pharmacies across the country, this twice-yearly injection offers something many people have long needed: privacy, convenience, and a way to sidestep the daily pill stigma. It could be a game-changer—especially for sexually active women and men navigating relationships where trust is policed and sexual orientation is often misread. What's clear is this: PrEP—regardless of how you take it—says nothing about your orientation. It says everything about your self-preservation. In a world where social media has normalized lip fillers, Botox, and testosterone shots, surely we can normalize two injections a year to protect against HIV. This moment demands a reset. The virus has moved on from the narratives we built in the '80s and '90s—but our prevention playbook hasn't. If Yeztugo lives up to its promise, it could finally help those most at risk feel seen, protected, and prioritized—not just pathologized.
Reuters
27-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Public health and civil rights organizations ask RFK Jr. to reconsider health agency layoffs
May 27 (Reuters) - Several leading public health, medical, civil rights, education and community organizations sent a letter to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging him to reconsider recent government body reorganizations over concerns related to tobacco regulations. The letter, dated May 21, was signed by 87 organizations — including the American Association for Cancer Research, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights and the National Medical Association. The Trump administration recently appealed a federal judge's block on mass layoffs by federal agencies, which included gutting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by firing 10,000 employees. "We fear that the recent cutbacks will halt and even reverse the decades of progress our nation has made in reducing the use of lethal and addictive tobacco products," the letter from the organizations said. The letter said the reorganization will affect regulation of tobacco products by the Food and Drug Administration and the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Medicaid cuts may disproportionately affect Black, Latino doctors and their patients
Members of the National Medical Association, which represents Black physicians, pose for a photo after a visit to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Black and Latino family physicians, who are more likely to see Medicaid patients than their white and Asian counterparts, say proposed Medicaid cuts would disproportionately affect communities they serve. (Courtesy of National Medical Association) Los Angeles pediatrician and urgent care specialist Dr. Ilan Shapiro worries for his chronically ill patients as he watches Congress weigh significant cuts to Medicaid. He thinks of a boy who, before finding Shapiro's clinic, was in and out of emergency rooms and intensive care units because of severe asthma attacks, instead of competing in soccer games and studying for exams. The boy's parents were losing hours and pay at work with the frequent ER visits. Shapiro, who is Latino, works at a federally qualified health care center, a clinic for low-income patients. Most of his patients are people of color on Medicaid, and roughly a quarter of them are children. Research shows Latino and Black family physicians are more likely to see Medicaid patients compared with their white and Asian counterparts. Experts say the Medicaid cuts Congress is weighing would strap health care centers that rely on already-low Medicaid reimbursements, disproportionately affecting communities of color and the physicians they rely on. It's not just health insurance. It's a lifeline for the entire family that could be severely impacted. – Dr. Ilan Shapiro Of the 72 million people covered by Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities, more than half are people of color, with Black and Hispanic people disproportionately represented on the rolls. Black and Hispanic patients have a higher risk of conditions such as high blood pressure, kidney disease and certain cancers, making health care access crucial. Congressional Republicans are considering $880 billion in cuts to federal Medicaid spending to offset trillions in tax cuts proposed by President Donald Trump. Conservatives have long argued that Medicaid is too expensive. They assert its expansion under the Affordable Care Act to more working adults has diverted too much money toward nondisabled people, taking resources away from vulnerable populations the program was originally intended to help. But clinicians and policy analysts say the federal Medicaid cuts could have an especially detrimental impact on vulnerable enrollees, including children, older adults and people with disabilities or chronic illnesses, as states are forced to find savings to fill the gap. Black maternal health advocates, researchers press on amid federal funding cuts One GOP proposal targeting Medicaid expansion could lead to reductions in children's health insurance programs, according to a February report by the Urban Institute. The think tank estimates that proposed cuts to federal Medicaid expansion spending could increase the number of uninsured kids by 11.8%. 'I'm deeply afraid,' said Shapiro. 'It's not just health insurance. It's a lifeline for the entire family that could be severely impacted.' Just 6% of U.S. physicians are Latino and 5% are Black, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Sustaining the relatively few medical practices with Black and Hispanic providers is important amid evidence that racial bias, lack of access to culturally competent care and language barriers lead to poorer health outcomes or access. For example, analyses have shown Black patients are less likely to be prescribed pain medication, and some clinicians hold false ideas that Black patients have a higher pain tolerance. Nearly 1 in 3 Black, Hispanic and multiracial women reported mistreatment in medical settings during pregnancy and delivery, such as receiving no help when asking for it or being shouted at, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. Language barriers, which Latino communities are more likely to face, are also associated with poorer health or limited access to health care. A fifth of Americans are on Medicaid. Some of them have no idea. 'We understand the language and cultural concordance and the improved outcomes,' said Dr. Linda Mirdamadi, an adjunct clinical assistant professor at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine who serves on the National Hispanic Medical Association's board of directors. 'There's a sense of trust.' Mirdamadi said federal cuts to Medicaid would lead to loss of preventive care for her large, diverse community. 'If they don't have access to health care, they're not going to have the access to chronic disease prevention, to vaccines, to cancer prevention screening,' she said. 'It is going to just increase the disparity gaps that already exist.' Dr. Roger Mitchell, president-elect of the National Medical Association, which represents Black physicians, said a widespread loss of Medicaid coverage would affect everybody, even people with private insurance. People without health coverage often don't have primary doctors and forgo preventive care, resulting in more trips to the emergency room. That can lead to longer wait times at ERs for everyone, regardless of their health insurance. Mitchell also pointed out that Medicaid reimbursements are a major funding stream for hospitals and clinics that see a lot of enrollees. Without that money, many of those providers might be forced to scale back their services or close. 'The ripple effect is enormous,' said Mitchell, who heads Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., where about 40% of patients are covered by Medicaid. 'This is an issue that's not just affecting one portion of the U.S. populace, but all of us, and has the potential to have huge harm.' Medicaid cuts could hurt older adults who rely on home care, nursing homes Dr. Zita Magloire is a family physician, but she also offers obstetric care along with two OB-GYNs at Cairo Medical Care in the south Georgia city of Cairo. The city is the county seat of Grady County, which has about 26,000 residents, almost 30% of whom are Black. Her practice is one of the few in the area that takes Medicaid for obstetric care, she noted, and serves many Central American immigrant patients who drive from the surrounding rural areas to her clinic. When another practice in the area started cutting services, her center absorbed those patients. 'There's not a lot of providers that accept Medicaid,' she said. 'What does that look like? Well, they [patients] show up with no prenatal care — and then, you have very high-risk patients.' Back in Los Angeles, the boy whose family found Shapiro's clinic is now a teenager. He received stable asthma care there and got Medicaid coverage. 'He started having a medical home. Everything changed. The ER visits and the intensive care unit visits changed to soccer games,' Shapiro said. Having coverage, he continued, 'makes a huge impact for the entire community.' Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@ SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
