Petrelis Files

White House AIDS Blog Video: Czar Colfax from CROI



One day after I kvetched in this post that it had been 76-days since President Obama's special assistant for HIV/AIDS issues, Dr. Grant Colfax, last had anything to say on the Office of National AIDS Policy blog, I'm very pleased to see the blog has been updated.

Earlier today, the White House cross-posted from AIDS.gov a short written introduction by former HIV prevention chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Ron Valdiserri, and a four-minute video chat he had with Colfax. Both of them are at the 20th annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

Permit me to express gratitude to Colfax for finally engaging with the AIDS community via his ONAP blog. Knowing Colfax from his time at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, he's always impressed me with his low-key style of speaking about AIDS matters that isn't overly technical and lacks a smarty-pants attitude.

Valdiserri is a good interviewer, who poses a short question, then lets Colfax answer. They also speak briefly about how the cross-epidemic of hepatitis infections among people living with AIDS is on the agenda at CROI. Kudos for this effort.
 
One small complaint to lodge. The soft music playing in the background is totally unnecessary and should be eliminated.

Hey Grant, we need more such engagement from you on a regular basis!