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| Man claims bias over use of HIV-blocking drug | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 16 2015, 12:44 PM (224 Views) | |
| Guest | Sep 16 2015, 12:44 PM Post #1 |
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Man claims bias over use of HIV-blocking drug BOSTON (AP) — As a gay man, the Boston attorney thought he was doing the responsible thing when he asked his doctor to prescribe Truvada, a drug hailed as a way to halt the spread of AIDS. But when he tried to get long-term care insurance, Mutual of Omaha turned him down, saying they do not offer coverage to anyone who takes it. Now, the man is planning to sue the insurer, alleging he was discriminated against because he is gay. He filed a complaint Wednesday with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the first step in a lawsuit. The man, who is identified only as John Doe in the complaint, said he wants to make sure that he and anyone else taking Truvada can get long-term care insurance, which covers daily, extended-care services for people with chronic illnesses or disabilities. He also wants to ensure that people are not deterred from using Truvada because they fear they will face discrimination. "I was shocked. I really was," Doe told The Associated Press in interview at the offices of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, a Boston-based legal group who is representing him. He spoke on condition of anonymity because his complaint contains private medical information. "I thought maybe they misunderstood me. I'm HIV-negative. I'm not HIV-positive. I was taking Truvada as a prophylactic." Bennett Klein, director of GLAD's AIDS Law Project, calls the decision "nonsensical." "It's really based on the stereotypes and the fears that are out there, that somehow gay male sexuality is inherently risky and unhealthy. We have a lot of bias about gay male sexuality in our society," Klein said. Truvada was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004 to be used in combination with other medications to treat people with HIV. In 2012, the FDA made it the first drug approved for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of HIV infection in uninfected people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says taking Truvada consistently has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV transmission in people who are at risk by up to 92 percent. Critics of Truvada say widespread use could lead to an increase in condomless sex and new HIV infections because people will forget to take the pill it every day. Mutual of Omaha declined comment on the complaint. "We have not seen the complaint and it's our practice not to comment on potential litigation," said Jim Nolan, a company spokesman. Doe, a 61-year-old attorney and businessman who lives in Boston, said he began taking Truvada about a year ago after discussing it with his doctor. He said he has lost dozens of friends to AIDS and cannot understand the rationale behind rejecting his application for long-term coverage when Truvada is believed to reduce his risk of HIV. His long-time partner is also HIV-negative. "I lived through the Holocaust of people dying from AIDS. I was doing my little part to stop that," he said. He said he received a letter in April from a chief underwriter for Mutual of Omaha denying his appeal. "We do not offer coverage to anyone who takes the medication Truvada, regardless of whether it is prescribed to treat HIV infection, or is used for pre-exposure prophylaxis. This in accordance with our underwriting guidelines," the letter said, according to the complaint. Doe alleges that Mutual of Omaha discriminated against him based on sexual orientation and disability, in this case, an assumption that Doe will in the future contract HIV, a health condition covered by the state's antidiscrimination law. Dr. Kenneth Mayer, a professor at Harvard Medical School and director of HIV Prevention Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said he doesn't understand why Mutual of Omaha would reject an applicant for long-term care insurance because he is taking Truvada. "The last thing we want to do is discourage people from using this preventive mediation," Mayer said. "The goal is to eradicate the number of new HIV infections." http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-man-claims-bias-over-hiv-blocking-drug-132225020.html |
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| Tybee | Sep 16 2015, 12:55 PM Post #2 |
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Outlandish on the part of MOA. I'm betting he'll win this case. |
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| Guest | Sep 16 2015, 01:00 PM Post #3 |
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Do you take Truvada/PreP? I do not but when I have sex with either/or a woman or man, or when I have had sex with a woman and man or 2 men at once I just use condoms and practice safer sex. Even if my insurance paid for Truvada I would not take it because of the negative side effects that do not sound too fun like how it's bad for your liver and apparently decreases your bone density.
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| Tybee | Sep 16 2015, 02:11 PM Post #4 |
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At my stage of life it would be comical.
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| Erna | Sep 16 2015, 02:18 PM Post #5 |
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Please discover the truth, there is no longer an excuse for ignorance: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0895263998/ref=tmm_pap_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1442431024&sr=1-1 |
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| Guest | Sep 16 2015, 05:09 PM Post #6 |
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I used to wonder if his theories were true while I was attending a university and smoked pot every so often. Then I met people who had met him or worked with him at Berkeley university, and they said how he's majorly into drugs well past the age most people stop using them, a major flake, and not nearly as intelligent as he thinks he is. |
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| Erna | Sep 17 2015, 01:36 AM Post #7 |
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How interesting that the HIV crowd has a multi-billion$$$$ global industry to protect and benefit$ from while the truthers are not making a dime. Ever wonder about that? Edited by Erna, Sep 17 2015, 01:38 AM.
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| Guest | Sep 17 2015, 01:50 AM Post #8 |
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The "truthers" as you put it are not exactly broke and homeless. Or this happens to them. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6558202 Death of an AIDS Skeptic Jan 1, 2009 Christine Maggiore, an AIDS activist-turned-HIV/AIDS-skeptic, died in her home Saturday (December 27, 2008) of pneumonia, according to the Associated Press. The Los Angeles coroner's office has yet to determine if her pneumonia was AIDS-related. If it was, it could serve as an ironic end to her work, promoting the idea that there is no definite link between HIV and AIDS, and that HIV tests are inaccurate. Whatever details her autopsy reveals, Maggiore's life may prove to be more controversial than her death. Since 1992, Maggiore founded two HIV/AIDS skeptic groups, including the Alive and Well AIDS Alternatives group in Los Angeles. Later, she traveled to Africa and is said to have personally influenced former South African President Thabo Mbeki's decision to block funding for HIV-positive pregnant women in South Africa. Maggiore also appeared on TV, in Mothering magazine and in documentaries describing her decision to marry, have unprotected sex, and later breast-feed her two children without taking the drug AZT, which is typically prescribed to prevent an HIV transmission from mother to baby. AIDS researchers and public health advocates have overwhelmingly condemned her work and personal life as deadly. "They caused the death of thousands of South Africans by delaying treatment and spreading infections," said Dr. Charlie van der Horst, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Van der Horst referred to a journal study that estimated 330,000 lives were lost to new AIDS infections during the time Mbeki blocked government funding of AZT treatment to mothers. "There is a space in hell reserved for them," said van der Horst. Other scientists have a more visceral reaction to Maggiore's cause. "The image, on the cover of a magazine aimed at mothers, of her heavily pregnant, naked belly, daubed with a slogan 'No AZT' in red paint was one of the single sickest images the AIDS pandemic has ever seen," said John P. Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City. At the time of the picture, Maggiore was pregnant with daughter Eliza Jane Scovill. In 2005, Eliza Jane died at age 3 of pneumonia. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office determined her death to be AIDS-related, but the Scovill family claimed Eliza Jane died from a reaction to antibiotics. Maggiore and her husband, Robin Scovill were investigated, but never faced any charges related to the death. A Friend Lost Michael Ellner, a long-time friend and associate of Maggiore's, believes the stress from her loss and the public backlash to her views caused her untimely death. "I lost somebody that I admired and loved, and I expect in the next couple of weeks that she'll be raked over the coals, even though she's dead," said Ellner, who teaches hypnosis techniques to medical professionals and is the founder of HEAL, a volunteer group that disseminates AIDS skepticism information. Ellner met Maggiore in 1992, shortly after she received an HIV diagnosis and shortly after she met Dr. Peter Duesberg, a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Duesberg became known as a lone wolf in the AIDS research world for his theories that the strong, toxic nature of AZT drugs actually induces AIDS. "She didn't match everyone else who had AIDS," said Ellner, explaining that Maggiore came to doubt mainstream AIDS research during her early years as an AIDS activist. Ellner said Maggiore never appeared to be as sick as others around her. "There are always positions and counter-positions in science and legitimate differences of opinion," said Thomas J. Coates, the Michael and Sue Steinberg professor of global AIDS research at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. "There have been those who have questioned many links -- tobacco and cancer, emissions and global warming, circumcision and reduction of HIV risk, etc." Coates said many big debates, such as evolution versus creationism, are not life threatening. "People still have the right to disagree," said Coates. "But, in the case of questioning the link between HIV and AIDS, one has to ask a bigger question: What are the consequences? In the case of HIV/AIDS denialism, the consequences are death and disability and suffering and misery." Life in the Spotlight Ellner pins the blame for Maggiore's misery elsewhere. This November, Ellner said Maggiore was bombarded with calls and e-mails about an episode of "Law & Order" that seemed to mimic some elements of Eliza Jane's story. The episode featured a baby who died of AIDS-related pneumonia and a mother who believed it was a reaction to an antibiotic. "She lost a child, she was accused of murdering her child and then everything was brought up again in November," said Ellner. "This time of year, suddenly you develop the cold and flu, and with stress, that can lead to pneumonia. ... You can blame it on the HIV, but that's my opinion -- she was killed by chronic stress." Ellner never denies that AIDS itself exists. However, he does question the accuracy of the HIV tests, he questions that HIV leads to AIDS and agrees with Duesberg that AZT causes AIDS. "I see Christine with different eyes. The average person doesn't appreciate that she studied this issue," said Ellner. But that does not impress van der Horst. "There's no question that HIV causes AIDS," said van der Horst. "There's absolutely not a single credible scientist who would disagree." Ellner said that the HIV antibody test can only detect a "footprint" of a virus that was once in the body. However, van der Horst said the antibody test can detect both -- evidence of an eradicated virus, and evidence of a "chronic" virus, like herpes or HIV that continually lives in the system. Van der Horst also points out that doctors have a second test for HIV that can detect the virus in the blood directly -- called the HIV viral load test. With drugs, doctors see less HIV in a patient's system. Van der Horst joined 5,000 other scientists by signing the so-called "Durban Declaration" in 2000. Developed in Durban, South Africa, the document asserted that HIV causes AIDS and that an effort to treat HIV is the best hope of fighting AIDS. Gail Wyatt, a couple's sex therapist associated with UCLA, personally encountered Maggiore, and thinks a different approach would settle the debate. "I was on the Ricki Lake show about four years ago speaking against Christine's insistence that she and her husband did not need to use condoms and that she did not need to be on medication," said Wyatt. "I think that pointing the finger at those who doubt they need to re-examine their resistance to obtaining care may just entrench them in their positions. "We always need to leave the door open to those who may want to get tested, treated and protect themselves and others from HIV and AIDS," she said. |
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| Guest | Sep 17 2015, 01:52 AM Post #9 |
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On December 27, 2008, Maggiore died at the age of 52. She was under a doctor's care and was being treated for what was originally reported as pneumonia. The Los Angeles County coroner's office stated that Maggiore had been treated for pneumonia in the six months prior to her death as well. A doctor familiar with the family noted that anti-HIV drugs could have prevented her death, but Maggiore's fellow AIDS denialists argued that her pneumonia was not AIDS-related and suggested instead that she died as a result of a toxic alternative medicine "holistic cleanse", stress, or the cold and flu. Maggiore's death certificate states that the cause of death was disseminated herpes virus infection and bilateral pneumonia, with oral candidiasis as a contributing cause, all of which can be related to HIV infection. |
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| Erna | Sep 17 2015, 02:24 AM Post #10 |
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Most believe what they are told to believe by media/government/ AMA, all of which have their own dollar-based agenda to promote. But hey, that's what keeps the system going! We, on the other hand, believe what we see - and not a lot more. |
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| Guest | Sep 17 2015, 11:45 PM Post #11 |
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Truvada/prep and HIV meds are excellent at preventing HIV infection from a one time slip up or lapse in using condoms, and at prevention of someone who is poz from developing AIDS, but they are toxic to the body, internal organs, and weaken bone structure.
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| Guest | Sep 18 2015, 12:26 AM Post #12 |
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In my day AZT was the only drug offered and it was estimated to add about a year to ones lifespan. Is it even offered anymore? I think Retrovir contains it, IIRC. Such a dark time that was. |
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| Guest | Sep 18 2015, 12:58 AM Post #13 |
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When AZT was first offered, they did not know much about it, and dosages for it were way too high and people had horrible side effects from this. |
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| Guest | Sep 18 2015, 01:00 AM Post #14 |
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I found this article about a Christian Scientist author who is POZ. AZT is mentioned. http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/05/25/edmund.white.hiv.aids/ |
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| Erna | Sep 18 2015, 03:43 AM Post #15 |
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If she were a true Christian Scientist she would have had nothing to do with doctors or 'tests' in the first place. Next. |
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| Guest | Sep 18 2015, 03:57 PM Post #16 |
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Have you read any of her novels? |
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| Guest | Sep 18 2015, 04:01 PM Post #17 |
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Another article about AZT and how someone is suing over it. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-rise-and-fall-of-azt-it-was-the-drug-that-had-to-work-it-brought-hope-to-people-with-hiv-and-aids-and-millions-for-the-company-that-developed-it-it-had-to-work-there-was-nothing-else-but-for-many-who-used-azt--it-didnt-2320491.html Cottrell told the news to his 28-year-old partner Karl Burge, who had been diagnosed as HIV-positive four years ago, and they decided to take action. But what could they do? They had already joined protests against Wellcome plc, the British company that made AZT and had reaped millions in sales and share profits. Wellcome executives had listened to their complaints, and had admitted to certain levels of toxicity in AZT, but claimed that their product still had great beneficial effects. They were not readily going to halt production of the drug that last year made them pounds 213m, their second biggest earner. So Cottrell and his friends selected a new target, the Terrence Higgins Trust. This was a strange choice: the trust, Britain's most prominent Aids charity over the past 10 years, is staffed by dedicated professionals and volunteers providing a large range of support and information about all aspects of Aids and HIV; it developed the caring 'buddy' system; it produced information for schools; it sat on many Aids research panels and often met government departments. So what had it done wrong? It had taken money from Wellcome plc and included positive information about AZT in its many leaflets and documents. Cottrell and his friends felt they were being betrayed by the very organisation that they had believed existed to act in their best interests; they felt that what was once an invaluable institution was acting as a mouthpiece for a multinational pharmaceuticals company. Last week, Cottrell and Burge were still pitched outside the Terrence Higgins Trust office in central London, four weeks after their protest began. On Wednesday they were arrested and charged with a public order offence after a member of the trust called the police. The protest is growing by the week. They have been joined by John Stevens, diagnosed HIV- positive more than eight years ago, and who also had bad experiences with AZT, and Pierre Hardy, diagnosed HIV-positive four years ago when he was 27 and had felt devastated by its effects. Many other protesters carry placards, collect signatures, hand out leaflets. You will not find a more potent symbol of the complex story of AZT, a story of how the struggle to find a 'magic bullet' to help millions of people has degenerated into a saga of distrust, confusion, and anger. It is a story of health and illness, but it is also a story of scientific ambition, secrecy and political pressure, and of the amounts of money that can be generated when a lethal virus turns into a worldwide epidemic. |
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| Erna | Sep 19 2015, 04:02 AM Post #18 |
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Our two best friends in LA were murdered by HIV/AID$ Inc., pharma divisia. |
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| Guest | Sep 19 2015, 11:21 AM Post #19 |
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How did that happen? Were they on high doses of AZT? Or did they start meds and then not take them? |
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| Erna | Sep 19 2015, 11:28 AM Post #20 |
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They were both fine, nothing wrong with them, until they started taking the AID$ drugs, then they went downhill month by month until they were dead. |
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| Guest | Sep 19 2015, 11:40 AM Post #21 |
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OK, did they take them as they were supposed to? Did they have safer sex? Even if you're HIV+ and bareback you can still get infected with another strain of HIV or get re-infected with the original strain you have, and get other STDs. An acquaintance of mine was HIV+ and not on meds and in very poor health where he went blind, and he got on medications and is doing very well now and is healthy. |
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| Erna | Sep 19 2015, 12:01 PM Post #22 |
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At my stage of life it would be comical.

3:25 AM Jul 11