An Act of Congress Opens S.F. HIV Panel

It took invoking an Act of Congress, the Federal Advisory Committee Act or FACA, which was enacted in 1972, to force the San Francisco health department to tell me where and when the Community Advisory Board meeting for the HIV vaccine trials is taking place next week. Needless to say, I am very happy the board is starting to meet all requirements of FACA.

Dr. Susan Buchbinder, the HIV researcher conducting the trials and is also, I believe, the head of the advisory board, sent me an email yesterday stating that the board will meet on Tuesday, September 19 at the AIDS Office at 25 Van Ness Avenue, in conference room 330A.

While receiving this public information is a step forward in persuading Buchbinder and the health department to adhere to the federal statutes contained in FACA requiring them to easily make the advisory board's meeting times and dates available, along with advance copies of the agendas, not to mention minutes of previous meetings, it is not enough.

I believe this HIV advisory board is in flagrant violation of FACA, has been for a few years too, and I'm not sure why San Francisco's health department is having trouble keeping the gay and AIDS communities here informed about the board's required public monthly meetings.

Other federal HIV advisory panels administered by the health department, including the HIV Prevention Planning Council and the Ryan White CARE Act Council, do an excellent job of meeting all the requirements of FACA, examples that the vaccine trials advisory board should emulate.

If the vaccine trials board members, or you, want to see how easy it is to follow FACA statutes, click here for the prevention council's site, and click here for our local CARE Act council's informative web site.

And to view how the vaccine trials board is not up to snuff, click here and see what is missing.

S.F.'s Secretive HIV/AIDS Advisory Panels?

The lack of basic meeting information for the HIV vaccines trials CAB, community advisory board, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health but locally administered by the San Francisco Department of Public Health's AIDS Office, may be in violation of federal, state and municipal sunshine ordinances and open meetings' statutes.

Click here to see how the CAB does not post any details about where and when it meets, nor is there an archive of agendas and minutes. All that's available for SF's vaccine trials' advisory panel is a short, upbeat pitch in support of the panel.

The CAB proudly says:

The purpose of the CAB is to include community members at all levels of the research process: study design, gaining informed consent, community education, recruitment efforts, results dissemination and the protection of study volunteers.

Apparently one level where the community is excluded is at the CAB level! Too bad the great rhetoric is not matched by reality.

Why is the CAB not sharing anything about its meetings and what has been on the agenda for the last few years, especially when government regulations clearly mandate keeping the public and affected communities fully informed?

I sense a velvet rope mentality at work here and like the hottest nite-spots only letting in the most fabulous people, or pals of the bouncers manning the velvet ropes, this CAB and its members probably think they can pick and choose who has access to the minutes or can attend their general public meetings.

No one is helped by keeping the community ignorant about the workings of the CAB and what's happening with recruitment for SF's arm of the vaccine trials. I've filed complaints with the appropriate authorities regarding sunshine law violations, as one way of trying to rectify the problem with the CAB.

At the same time, the vaccine trials CAB is not the only branch of the health department's HIV programs not doing all it can to engage and inform people with AIDS or HIV and the gay community.

This summer the Board of Supervisors mandated the DPH create an advisory panel on housing issues affecting people living with AIDS, and that monthly public meetings were to take place. Click here for the meeting schedule.

The first such meeting actually happened last week, but not many PWAs knew about it. Click here to read last week's agenda and notice that no information is provided about who's in charge of the panel or is a member, not to mention how to get an item on the agenda at future meetings.

There's been a longstanding problem in this town, really, ever since the dawn of the HIV crisis, and that is the active hoarding by AIDS Inc and the DPH of legally-required basic information about government-created advisory boards and the problem certainly is not diminishing this year.

Okay, while there's a degree of secretiveness over the vaccine CAB and the HIV housing panel, it wouldn't take much effort or time on the DPH's part to post and publicize advance agendas, meeting times and minutes for the panels.

NY Post: ABC's Iger Gave More to Dems Than Republicans

This appears in Page 6 today in the NY Post:

FELLOW TRAVELER

THE way Democrats complained about how the Clinton administration was portrayed in ABC's "The Path to 9/11," one would think the network was part of the "vast right-wing conspiracy." On the contrary, Disney chairman Robert Iger is a big supporter of Democrats. Blogger Michael Petrelis reports that Iger, since 1992, has donated $74,000 to Democrats and $19,500 to Republicans. No wonder ABC, which is owned by Disney, bowed to Clinton's pressure and deleted scenes showing him as distracted on fighting terrorism.

Iran's Ex President Defends Killing Gays in Harvard Talk

I am sending a big thank you to Doug Ireland for sharing the text of Khatami's answer to a question about gays on his blog, to New York-based journalist Duncan Osborne for transcribing Khatami's reply, and to the student at Harvard who posed the gay-specific question.

From Ireland's blog today:

As Harvard students demonstrated against him, Mohammad Khatami, Iran’s president from 1997 to 2005, spoke through a translator at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government on September 10, 2006. His remarks on homosexuality in response to a question, which follow, were transcribed by journalist Duncan Osborne from C-SPAN's videotape of Khatami's presentation. The ellipses are where Khatami paused for translation.

Khatami on execution of gays in Iran:

"We’re at a university, the cradle of science, so we can speak of it scientifically...In all schools of thought and in all religions there is punishment and punishment is not a form of violence...Punishment is seen as a response to violence or deviance in society and if there is no punishment in a society a society cannot run effectively...

"In regards to the fact that is capital punishment a fair reaction to crime this is an issue that has been debated extensively in legal circles and even some states in the United States still maintain capital punishment and even some other countries in the world so the issue of capital punishment is still being largely debated...

"As an expert of Islamic sciences I tell you that capital punishment is accepted in Islam, but it has conditions that are so stringent that executions should almost never happen. If in fact they are happening in Islamic countries it is because, if it happens excessively in Islamic countries it is a problem of bringing those religious rulings into practice...

"In regards to the issue of gay people as well as the issue of adultery, the conditions that are required for capital punishment are so strict that it is virtually impossible to meet...Of course this is my opinion and a lot of people don’t accept my opinion, but I was asked for my opinion so this is what I believe...

"In many Islamic countries homosexual relationships as well as non-consensual heterosexual relationships have been punishable...There are also others, there are others in the world that have similar views namely important sects of Christianity...So yes you are correct homosexual activity is a crime in Islam...And crimes are punishable...The fact that could crimes be punished by execution is debatable...And that we must differentiate between punishment and violence."

More from Doug Ireland:

Khatami's answer, of course, begs the question of the many homosexual Iranians who have been framed for, or forced under torture to confess to, other crimes, like rape -- and then executed for them. And the Iranian gay group Homan has reported over 4,000 executions of homosexuals in Iran since Ayatollah Khomeini made homosexuality a capital crime upon taking power in 1979. So to say, as Khatami did, that, in Iran, executions of gays "almost never happen" is, not to make a pun, a bit of a stretch....Or, to be more precise, a clever bit of sophistry.

Let's hope gay and mainstream journalists become interested in all this and report on the ex-president's comments at Harvard over the weekend.

Grim Iraq Milestone: 2,900 US/UK/Coalition Deaths

With such statistics as these for American, United Kingdom and other countries' forces in the Iraq war climbing every day, not to mention the always-rising estimated number of Iraqi civilian deaths, I so much believe now is the best time for the U.S. to contemplate changing our course of action over there.

The Iraq Casualties web site and the Pentagon, icasualties.org and dod.mil, have updated their numbers with new statistics the White House probably prefers not receive much attention from the media and general public.

For number of deaths of coalition forces from the U.S., the U.K. and our partner countries, the figure is now at 2,901.

And the new number for Iraqi civilians deaths is at 12,616, and that is a very conservative estimate, while the figure for number of Iraqi police casualties is 5,361.

The Defense Department's latest number of American troops "WIA not RTD," which stands for wounded in action and not returned to duty, reached a grim milestone.

As of September 8, 2006, there have been 9,062 of our service men and women wounded so severely they could no longer perform their duties. And 10,883 were wounded in action and returned to duty.

Staying on this course is not a serious option for this American voter.

ABC's Iger: $5K to Hillary, $74K to Dems, $19K to GOP

The controversy over Disney/ABC's September 11 miniseries, "The Path to 9/11," has prompted the Democratic National Committee to launch an online petition campaign to the head honcho at Disney/ABC, Robert A. Iger, and I say the Democrats, and everyone concerned with the truth of that tragic day five years ago, should be demanding an accurate and factual depiction from the miniseries.

At the same time, Iger's Federal Election Commission file, going back to 1992, shows he's been a generous donor to Democrats and the GOP, donating $131,600 over all, and that figure breaks down thusly:

$74,000 to Democrats,
$19,500 to Republicans,
$38,000 to special interests.

Yet, the Democratic Party and individual candidates who've accepted checks from Iger are not returning any of his donations and I think they should, to send him, and other corporate media executives, a strong message or two.

By giving Iger back his contributions, the DNC and its candidates would say they're not interested in and don't need his money, especially if his TV empire is to be used for pro-GOP propaganda. Returning Iger's money also loudly tells the electorate, a sizeable portion of which is fed up with business as usual, there's a more feisty and demanding Democratic Party at work here.

Two months before the general election, why not have the Dems really stand up for the principle at stake here, truth from corporate news outlets despite political giving from media moguls, and that this is one more reason to vote Democratic in November?

One prominent Democrat who should quickly return Iger's giving is Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Since 2000 she's accepted $5,200 from him, and I do believe I have read a few stories lately about her husband and his former advisors none-too-pleased with how they're portrayed, some might say betrayed, in ABC's 9/11 miniseries.

Dear Dr. Dean and Sen. Clinton, give Iger back his dollars!

Iger's FEC file, from NewsMeat:

WAXMAN, HENRY A. (D)
$1,000
06/12/06

CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM (D)
$2,100
04/20/06

CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM (D)
$1,100
04/20/06

WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS EMPLOYEES PAC (DISNEY EMPLOYEES POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE)
$5,000
04/13/06

FEINSTEIN, DIANNE (D)
$2,000
03/30/06

NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE (R)
$2,500
03/20/06

DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (D)
$10,000
02/28/06

BERMAN, HOWARD L (D)
$2,000
11/30/05

NELSON, BILL (D)
$1,900
11/14/05

STEVENS, THEODORE F (TED) (R)
$2,000
06/06/05

TEXAS FREEDOM FUND (R)
$2,000
02/24/05

NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE (R)
$2,500
02/22/05

WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS EMPLOYEES PAC (DISNEY EMPLOYEES POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE)
$5,000
01/21/05

BECERRA, XAVIER (D)
$1,000
10/12/04

SPECTER, ARLEN (R)
$500
09/17/04

HAGEL, CHARLES T (R)
$1,000
07/08/04

DASCHLE, THOMAS ANDREW (D)
$2,000
06/30/04

DASCHLE, THOMAS ANDREW (D)
$1,000
06/01/04

MARKEY, EDWARD J MR. (D)
$2,000
05/26/04

MARKEY, EDWARD J MR. (D)
$2,000
05/26/04

NELSON, BILL (D)
$2,000
03/31/04

DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (D)
$5,000
03/24/04

WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS EMPLOYEES PAC (DISNEY EMPLOYEES POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE)
$5,000
02/10/04

GLACIER PAC
$4,000
12/16/03

LINCOLN, BLANCHE LAMBERT (D)
$1,000
12/05/03

CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM (D)
$1,000
11/18/03

DASCHLE, THOMAS ANDREW (D)
$1,000
10/09/03

SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D)
$2,000
08/25/03

LEAHY, PATRICK (D)
$2,000
07/14/03

LEAHY, PATRICK (D)
$2,000
07/14/03

DODD, CHRISTOPHER J (D)
$1,000
06/28/03

MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA INC POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
$1,000
02/11/03

WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS EMPLOYEES PAC (DISNEY EMPLOYEES POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
$5,000
01/29/03

LANDRIEU, MARY L (D)
$1,000
12/02/02

NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE CONTRIBUTIONS (R)
$1,000
10/11/02

DNC SERVICES CORPORATION/DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE (D)
$1,000
10/03/02

JOHNSON, TIM (D)
$1,000
08/19/02

MONTANA STATE DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE (FED. ACCT.) (D)
$1,000
08/19/02

MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA INC POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
$1,000
08/09/02

DINGELL, JOHN D (D)
$1,000
07/24/02

TAUZIN, WILBERT J II (R)
$1,000
05/10/02

TAUZIN, WILBERT J II (R)
$1,000
05/10/02

BOXER, BARBARA (D)
$2,000
04/15/02

KERRY, JOHN F (D)
$1,000
03/08/02

BAUCUS, MAX (D)
$1,000
03/05/02

GEPHARDT, RICHARD A (D)
$1,000
12/17/01

EMANUEL, RAHM (D)
$1,000
12/17/01

MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA INC POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
$1,000
12/06/01

BERMAN, HOWARD L (D)
$1,000
06/27/01

BERMAN, HOWARD L (D)
$1,000
06/27/01

MARKEY, EDWARD J MR. (D)
$1,000
06/11/01

WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS EMPLOYEES PAC (DISNEY EMPLOYEES POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
$5,000
01/12/01

GORE/LIEBERMAN ELECTION LEGAL AND ACCOUNTING COMPLIANCE FUND
$1,000
11/09/00

CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM (D)
$1,000
11/04/00

L.A. PAC (NNEABC)
$1,000
08/15/00

RANGEL, CHARLES B (D)
$1,000
06/07/00

DINGELL, JOHN D (D)
$1,000
05/04/00

TAUZIN, WILBERT J II (R)
$1,000
04/14/00

WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS EMPLOYEES PAC (DISNEY EMPLOYEES POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE)
$5,000
01/06/00

HUTCHISON, KAY BAILEY (R)
$1,000
12/10/99

BERMAN, HOWARD L (D)
$1,000
09/15/99

MARKEY, EDWARD J MR. (D)
$1,000
06/30/99

ABRAHAM, SPENCER SENATOR (R)
$1,000
06/04/99

DEWINE, RICHARD MICHAEL (R)
$1,000
12/22/98

HOLLINGS, ERNEST F (D)
$1,000
06/02/98

MARKEY, EDWARD J MR. (D)
$1,000
05/15/98

DINGELL, JOHN D (D)
$1,000
04/24/98

MCCAIN, JOHN S (R)
$1,000
04/08/98

BURNS, CONRAD (R)
$1,000
04/01/98

DASCHLE, THOMAS ANDREW (D)
$1,000
02/20/98

GEPHARDT, RICHARD A (D)
$1,000
03/31/97

SCHUMER, CHARLES E (D)
$1,000
06/18/96

DINGELL, JOHN D (D)
$1,000
05/22/96

DINGELL, JOHN D (D)
$1,000
11/10/93

DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (D)
$1,000
10/26/92

Reuters: HIV+ Woman Forced to Abort Fetus; AIDS Patient Stoned to Death

This depressing Reuters story was sent to me by my friend and longtime San Francisco AIDS advocate Hank Wilson. I've Googled the story all morning and, so far, haven't found a single link to any US media outlets picking up on these tragic events involving people with AIDS in India. Do US editors and reporters (mistakenly) believe American news consumers are not concerned about the terrible plight faced by PWAs not just in India, but indeed, in too many part of the world?

From the Reuters wire:

A pregnant HIV-positive woman was forced to abort her own fetus after staff in a hospital in eastern India refused to help her, officials said on Monday.

In a separate incident in the region, an infected man was stoned by people who feared he might spread the virus. He later died of his injuries.

Investigations in both cases are under way but authorities and activists said such incidents underlined how much stigma and even paranoia was attached to the disease in India. [...]

The 23-year-old woman, who recently tested HIV positive, was shunned last month by doctors and nurses in a state-run Kolkata hospital who told her they would not help her undergo an abortion.

"The hospital had no sympathy for me as I had to pull out the fetus with my hands and clean myself as health workers guided me from a distance," Roshni Mulani, a mother of a two-year-old child, told Reuters.

"They read about my HIV status from medical reports ... and threw medicines from a distance," said Mulani, who is recuperating at the house of anti-AIDS activist Ramen Pandey. [...]

In the neighboring state of Orissa, a 35-year-old man with full-blown AIDS died after he was pelted with stones inside a hospital compound.

"He was strolling in the vicinity when some people threw stones at him last week," Alexander Pahi, a senior police official said over the phone from the coastal town of Puri.

Loknath Mishra tested positive two years ago and was ostracized by his neighbors who feared that he may spread the virus in Puri, a holy town for Hindus.

The victim's brother told police that some people had threatened Mishra after they found out he had AIDS, Pahi said. [...]

In July 2003, an Indian woman was reported to have been stoned to death by panicky relatives and neighbors in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

An HIV positive women forced to abort her fetus and the stoning of a man with AIDS should be news in the American press.

NY Post: First-ever Dog Protection Order Issued Against Gay Man

They say gays are always the first to start trends or break new legal ground, and this story from Friday's New York Post illustrates how gays are at the forefront of the implementation of New York's new law protecting pooches. By the way, the order protecting the dog was issued, where else?, in the borough of Queens!

Excerpts from the article:

I'll get you - you and your little dog, Bibi, too!

A jilted gay man turned into the wicked bitch of the west and beat up his ex-boyfriend's tiny bichon frise, prompting the city's first-ever order of protection for a dog.

Fredrick Fontanez, 20, now must stay 100 yards away from the pooch Bibi and have no contact with the dog, Judge Alex Zigman ordered in Queens Criminal Court yesterday. [...]

Lopez allegedly told Fontanez, who lives in The Bronx, to be out of his house by the time he got home from work.

Sometime later, neighbors report hearing blood-curdling yelps and howls from the apartment where Fontanez, who is 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, was alone with 5-year-old Bibi, a cute, 15-pound, white powder puff of a dog. [...]

Fontanez left when Lopez got home - and Colon told him what he had heard. Lopez was shocked when he saw the pup.

"A few minutes later, he knocks on my door and says, 'Yo, look at this,' He's got the welts, he's got black and blues," said Colon, an animal lover. "It was black and blue over his spine, maybe four inches from his tail. You could see he was shivering, see it in his face.

"You know that's not cool - that's not cool. Because that dog can't defend itself," he said. "The guy should go pick on some of the pit bulls or Rottweilers around here."

After an investigation by the ASPCA, Fontanez was arrested Wednesday. He was arraigned early yesterday and released with no bail on orders to stay away from Lopez and his canine best friend.

The extension of orders of protection to animals was signed into law just late last month by Gov. Pataki. [...]

"We also see that people who abuse other people also abuse pets. This is the first time the ASPCA has seen an order of protection issued for an animal."

"This is really terrifying. I hope the dog recovers," Rosenthal said.

Lopez could not be reached for comment, but officials said Bibi is doing OK. Fontanez declined to comment.

Hey, Mr. Dog-Beater! Friends of Dorothy love their little dogs, they don't beat them up.

NY Times is Wrong on Clinton Foundation's Budget

Yesterday's glowing front-page profile in the New York Times on former president Bill Clinton's efforts fighting HIV/AIDS around the globe made the following claim:

The Clinton foundation’s budget last year was $30 million, raised from private donors. Mr. Clinton, who oversees its operations full time, has plunged into many causes, from childhood obesity to tsunami relief to global warming, but he has made his most substantive contribution on AIDS.

I don't know where the Times got that $30 million figure from, because after looking at the latest IRS 990 filings for Clinton's two charities, it appears as though the paper reported an incorrect amount.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, in its most recent IRS 990 report, shows the foundation had revenue of $57.7 million. A little bit less than double of what the Times claimed was the foundation's budget last year.

His other charity, the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative, which is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, had a much smaller budget, according to its only IRS 990 filing, and that amount was $5.9 million. Not exactly pocket change, but also not anywhere near the $30 million figure reported by the Times.

So far, the Times has not printed a correction about the wrongly reported figure for Clinton's foundation.

POZ: Fear Factor, HIV Vaccine Ads & People w/AIDS

My latest column for POZ magazine is about the use of fear by the San Francisco health department and the National Institutes of Health to recruit volunteers for HIV vaccine trials, and also how fear is occasionally a key factor in HIV prevention messages.

Excerpts from my column, appearing in the August issue of POZ:

In those early days, we all grappled with spooky unknowns. What, precisely, caused the dying—and how could we stop it, treat it, live with it, get the care and respect we deserved? In such a climate, fear of the disease and dying was probably one of the best options to spur behavioral changes that could save our and others’ lives.

Now, as AIDS turns 25, so much has improved for those fortunate enough to have survived and have accessed treatment. Why, then, is fear—demeaning, demonizing, repulsive fear—still being used to hype HIV prevention?

Every night, as I walk home from dealing with doctors, diagnostic tests or running to the pharmacy to perfect my ever-changing AIDS cocktail, I must pass an enormous billboard selling fear in San Francisco. [...]

A supposed friend of people with HIV, the Stop AIDS Project, recently launched a prevention campaign with an alarmist tagline so creepy it seems ripped from a ’50s pod-people double feature:

“Some of the guys you’ll cruise tonight have an STD.”

Attention, good people of San Francisco! Run for them thar hills and hope those guys don’t follow you, swim through the sewers up into your shower and nail ya.

Then there’s another billboard, from SFisReady.org. “Ready for the day when we can date without fear of infection?” it asks in large black letters.

This one’s a recruiting tool for the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. I support the trials and hope they produce a vaccine, but I absolutely loathe how the ad tries to make us feel bad—that all potential sex partners might think twice about dating me. That all we homosexuals—“the gays,” as we are often lumped—are diseased and should be handled with tongs. [...]

What I didn't know as I wrote the column is that the CAB, community advisory board, for the San Francisco branch of the vaccine trials had heard from other gay men and people with AIDS, back in the spring, complaining about the campaigns and how they contribute to stigmatizing people living with HIV or AIDS.

As hard as it to believe, the CAB does not post its agendas or minutes on its web site, even though federal statutes require the board to share this public information, without a member of the public having to file a FOIA request. Someone should inform the CAB that the community has a vested interest in the work of HIV vaccine researchers, and that it has a sacred duty to keep the community at-large up-to-date on the trials and work of the CAB.

That being said, I have sent a FOIA request to the health department and the CAB, asking for their agendas and minutes over the past two years and have left messages for the health officials, requesting them to expand the CAB's site to regularly post information about their meetings and the topics discussed.

I've also managed to obtain the minutes, which appear in full below, from the CAB's meeting in April, when the group dealt with community concerns about the language in the recruitment ads.

From the minutes:

[Jen Sarche, director of community education] noted that we have received several emails regarding our “Ready for Love,” and “Ready to Date without Fear of Infection” ads which have appeared in the past two and a half months in Muni Stations and bus shelters. The emails expressed concern that the ads unintentionally stigmatized HIV positive people, or that they encouraged unsafe sex. A community member attending the meeting addressed his concerns to the CAB as an HIV positive individual, saying the ads were causing a “stir” in the community and felt the ads implied that people who were HIV positive could not be dated or loved without fear.

So how did the CAB respond to these community concerns?:

The CAB felt strongly otherwise noting the need to have messages directed at HIV negative individuals. Both HIV negative and HIV positive members of the CAB stated that fear can be a palpable and at times useful emotion. CAB members also pointed out the ads speak about fear of HIV infection which is significantly different than fear of HIV positive individuals.

While the CAB members, regardless of HIV status, believe fear is a proper tool in the fight against AIDS, and for them such an attitude may be appropriate, I don't think it's okay for the CAB to dismiss the concerns of people who took the time to write to the CAB and attend the meeting to express reservations. In my opinion, the CAB should listen to the community members who are troubled by the fear message and develop recruitment messages based on other factors.

More excerpts from the minutes:

The ads have sparked an increase in discussion about HIV vaccines as well as an increase in calls from potential participants. After a good and spirited discussion it was agreed that the current ads will remain in place. [...]

The CAB then reviewed a new ad that will be forthcoming in June. The ad ties into Pride for June, and talks about taking pride in joining an HIV vaccine study. The response to the new ad was less than enthusiastic. [...]

Sounds to me the CAB chose to ignore individuals from the community not happy with the CAB's work. So much for the CAB representing the full spectrum of opinions from the community!

Interesting that these minutes show some community members were less than enthusiastic about the use of fear, and took the time to write or show up at the meeting, while at the same time, without any sourcing, the minutes also illustrate the response to the Pride message was supposedly less than enthusiastic also. Odd that the minutes don't reveal who exactly lacked enthusiasm for the Pride campaign in June.

Did the CAB receive emails from the community showing no enthusiasm for the Pride ads, or was it just CAB members who weren't enthusiastic?

It is frequently said that we're all in the battle against AIDS together, whether we're poz or negative, a researcher or person living with AIDS, someone who struggles to live on disability benefits or an executive at a service organization making more than $200,000 annually.

On a basic level, I agree that everyone is affected by HIV and should be supportive of efforts to find a cure and an effective and affordable vaccine, and one way to keep us united to control and end AIDS is by insisting the HIV vaccine CAB in San Francisco listen to community members angry over the use of fear to sell the trials, and that the CAB publicize its monthly meetings and post its agendas and minutes on the web.

Here are the full minutes from the April CAB meeting:

HIV Research Section
San Francisco Department of Public Health
Community Advisory Board Minutes
April 18, 2006

Present: Alan Bettis, Brad Vanderbilt, Brent Sugimoto, Darnell Durio, Jamie Nesbitt, Jeff Gustavson, Karl Knapper, Michael Tyree, Naomi Akers, Stephan Oxendine, Steve Muchnick, Marina Rifkin, David Diaz, Albert Liu, Gavin Morrow-Hall, Jen Sarche, Jonathan Fuchs, Susan Buchbinder, and Parker Nolen (guest)

Announcements

- Steve Muchnick wrote a letter of support for Sonya’s R01 grant, and worked with Naomi to write one for the IDEA grant, and copies are available to the CAB.

- UCSF is looking for recruiters with experience working in communities of color for a gay couples study – contact Brad Vanderbilt if you know someone who is interested.

- We enrolled the180th participant in the ACE Study (HPTN 039) and enrollment will close internationally at the end of May. Thanks for all who helped make this day happen.

- The Volunteer Appreciation event is scheduled for June 8th – put it in your calendar. Invitations will go out in May.

- A health provider’s community forum is scheduled for May 3rd addressing emerging issues in HIV prevention, including PrEP, Serosorting, and Superinfection. We are hosting the forum with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

- Susan will conduct a HIV vaccine chat on gay.com May 17th, the day before HIV Vaccine Awareness Day – watch for login information.

Names Based HIV Reporting

California Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 699 into law on April 17th, authorizing the use of names-based HIV incidence reporting in California. The change means that HIV testing sites will now be required to report new HIV cases by name to the state for reporting to the CDC. The CDC will use these data to determine CARE and Prevention funding for the state. This is a significant change from the previous non-name reporting which utilized a code-based system. Some members of the prevention community are concerned that the change will discourage people from seeking out HIV testing.

Participants in our prevention research studies are exempt from the names-based reporting requirement because of the protections in place for confidentiality.

The CAB recommended that we increase our community education efforts around fears around vaccine-induced positive tests and whether they are reportable, and made comments for clarification of the language around these issues in our consent forms. Questions were also raised about how the new law impacts people who were previously tested in confidential testing sites, and whether the state will go back to decode all the past HIV cases identified in California. Jonathan will clarify this part of the law and we will report back to the CAB about it at a future meeting.

Community Input into our recruitment ads

Jen noted that we have received several emails regarding our “Ready for Love,” and “Ready to Date without Fear of Infection” ads which have appeared in the past two and a half months in Muni Stations and bus shelters. The emails expressed concern that the ads unintentionally stigmatized HIV positive people, or that they encouraged unsafe sex. A community member attending the meeting addressed his concerns to the CAB as an HIV positive individual, saying the ads were causing a “stir” in the community and felt the ads implied that people who were HIV positive could not be dated or loved without fear.

The CAB felt strongly otherwise noting the need to have messages directed at HIV negative individuals. Both HIV negative and HIV positive members of the CAB stated that fear can be a palpable and at times useful emotion. CAB members also pointed out the ads speak about fear of HIV infection which is significantly different than fear of HIV positive individuals.

The ads have sparked an increase in discussion about HIV vaccines as well as an increase in calls from potential participants. After a good and spirited discussion it was agreed that the current ads will remain in place. Further discussion followed about the process for CAB approval of our ad materials. Because of time pressures, it is not always possible to wait for CAB meetings to get input into the ads. A small media review working group will be created which will be asked to look at advertisements on-line and get feedback back in within a couple of days.

The CAB then reviewed a new ad that will be forthcoming in June. The ad ties into Pride for June, and talks about taking pride in joining an HIV vaccine study. The response to the new ad was less than enthusiastic. Jen will work with our designer and inform the CAB of the finalized product.

Press and Communications around Project T

In the past month there has been a lot of press about pre-exposure prophylaxis, both about whether it is currently in use in the community, and whether TDF or Truvada were the better agent for it. An article went out over the Associated Press wire and was picked up by hundreds of news organizations. The content of this story was fine, but slightly confused, especially with regard to the tenofovir vs. Truvada information. More concerning were the headlines that were printed with the article, such as, “New pill protects against HIV.” Susan and Al also gave several interviews for original stories as well, including the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal and CNN.

As a result, the PrEP Communications Working Group that has been previously discussed will be convened by the CDC to create some clearer messages for broad distribution. The Working Group will include representatives from each U.S. PrEP site, Brad and Steve O. will represent our CAB. We will convene a Project T working group meeting, including interested members from the community, to give Brad and Steve an agenda to present to that group.

Al will be speaking at a forum, hosted by CHAMP and AVAC, on PrEP in NYC next week.
Results from the PrEP survey that Al is conducting will be available by summer although to date no significant use of PrEP has been noted.

Explore and New Choices Data

New data from the Explore study has been released showing the significant predictors of HIV infection included the following:

- Having unprotected sex as a “bottom” with someone who is HIV +, HIV status unknown or a person believed to be HIV –

- Having unprotected sex as a “top” with persons known to be HIV infected

- Having had four or more anal sex partners in the previous six months

- Heavy (four or more drinks per day) alcohol use or having six or more drinks at one time

- The use of alcohol and drugs before or during sex

- Use of amphetamines

- Depression

- Gonorrhea

This new data seems in line with previous studies conducted by the Research Section that indicated that unprotected sex with unknown or persons perceived to be HIV negative, having multiple sex partners and use of alcohol and drugs were predictors of HIV infection.

Results from the New Choices study, a cross-sectional study looking for emerging risk factors for HIV infection, found that use of both crystal meth and Viagra (not necessarily together) were associated with unprotected anal sex with an HIV discordant or serostatus unknown partner.

The CAB stated that information was useful but did not discover new territory nor address the root causes of this kind of risk. The CAB wondered what the new data means in terms of future programming and policy directed at gay men. The CAB specifically wanted to know why will two percent of gay men still become infected this year and how do we create a healthier gay men’s community.

No one had clear answers to the questions but it was noted that the San Francisco Gay Men’s Community Initiative is addressing these concerns and should be invited to attend a future CAB meeting.