By Ella Shapiro
Growing up in Garfield Park, Zahara Bassett remembers having to frequently travel to the North Side of Chicago to access gender-affirming spaces and receive medical care, food and housing assistance. Despite loving her neighborhood, it was clear to Zahara, as a Black transgender woman, that...
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By Brian Solem
When I hear the word “dashboard,” the first thing that comes to mind is the illuminating glow of a car’s control panel, telling me how fast I’m going, what song is playing and whether I need to refill my gas tank (usually, the answer is “yes”).
The Getting to Zero Illinois (GTZ-IL) Dashboard...
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By Jim Pickett, Senior Director Prevention Advocacy and Gay Men’s Health at AIDS Foundation Chicago
The last time I wrote about safer sex and pleasure during COVID-19 – last April (in other words, three lifetimes ago) – I focused on lots of tasty treats on the sexual menu . ...
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By Bailey Williams
Currently, there are two FDA-approved pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs available for HIV-negative people looking to prevent HIV transmission. These include Truvada, a generic equivalent to Truvada from Teva Pharmaceuticals (just made available October 1), and Descovy. Each of these drugs typically require daily dosing - meaning individuals take one pill each day coupled...
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By Bailey Williams
It happens once a year: The pesky little reminder goes off in your phone letting you know it’s time to schedule your annual gynecology exam. You try to mentally prepare yourself, but this visit, your OB-GYN says something unexpected. “Have you heard of PrEP?” When you shake your head, she goes on to inform you that PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis)...
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AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) applauds the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and ViiV Healthcare for demonstrating that injections of long-acting cabotegravir (CAB-LA), delivered every other month, appear to be safe and highly effective in preventing HIV in gay and bisexual cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men. This...
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Remember when we could swipe through Tinder, meet up with someone new and later have an amazing sexual encounter? Though the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is keeping us indoors, the time will come when we're able to enjoy in-person sex outside our homes. When that day arrives, you'll want to know what preventive options are available.
Thankfully, you have options to prevent...
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A recent study by the Chicago Center for HIV Elimination at the University of Chicago reveals the PrEP4Love social marketing campaign generated roughly 41 million unique views across various social media platforms within four months of its pilot launch across Chicago.
In 2016, the Chicago PrEP Working Group (now the Illinois PrEP working Group) launched PrEP4Love , a citywide,...
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Let’s say you went out yesterday for a night on the town, but you didn’t use a condom, the condom broke or something else unexpected happened during your night out like sharing needles while injecting drugs. Or perhaps you feel bad or confused about the sex you had in the moment or the morning after or you were a victim of sexual assault. Now
5 Fast Facts About...
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On May 9, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Gilead Sciences announced that Gilead will provide free PrEP to 200,000 uninsured people on an annual basis. While there are many details to be determined, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) is cautiously optimistic that this move will expand access to PrEP for people who are most vulnerable to HIV.
Free...
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