Health
CDC word ban invites concern, caution
Effect on trans community, ramifications on Obamacare cited
Medical professionals and advocates are speculating whether the word recommendations will bleed into other areas at the CDC.
GREENWICH, Conn. — The mid-December report initially reported by the Washington Post that said seven words are now banned at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to incite concern among U.S. health care professionals with particular concern in the LGBT realm, Greenwich Time and other outlets report.
Initial sources said that senior officials in the CDC in charge of the budget, at a Dec. 14 meeting, banned the use of seven designations: “science-based,” “evidence-based,” “fetus,” “transgender,” “vulnerable,” “entitlement” and “diversity.”
The words circulated widely through social media newsfeeds as people deliberately used the terminologies that the CDC was told to avoid in its 2019 budgetary materials.
Since the report broke, Matt Lloyd, the Department of Health and Human Services’ principal deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, has denied that there are any “banned words” at the CDC, the New York Times reports. Though the initial Post article blamed President Donald Trump’s administration for the barred terms, follow-up reports differ on the origin of the list.
Some media analysts, advised by anonymous sources from HHS, have hypothesized that officials at the CDC incorporated the changes themselves to assuage a more conservative, right-wing Congress that might take issue with the ideas associated with words like “fetus” and “transgender” when making funding decisions, Greenwich Time reports.
Whether the recommendations originated in the CDC or outside of the agency, there is proof the initial conversation about language did indeed take place.
Now, medical professionals and advocates are speculating whether the word recommendations will bleed into other areas at the CDC.
There is concern that the word ban is related to a long-term effort to overturn the Obamacare provision (Rule 1557) that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in health care, the National Law Review reports. Rolling back those protections has been a priority of the religious right since it was first enacted. HHS has been considering allowing religious groups to ignore some regulations, mostly related to health care for trans people and abortions; the agency has received over 10,000 comments from the public but has only released 80 of them, Politico reports.
“The CDC not being allowed to use the word ‘transgender’ in budget documents could have a cost in people’s health and lives,” said Harper Jean, policy director at the National Center for Transgender Equality, in a statement to Vice. “At best, it means a chilling effect on the work of the CDC’s scientists and public health professionals, keeping them from pursuing the most effective public health interventions. At worst, it could mean a priority population for preventing HIV is completely ignored.”
Health
MISTR announces it’s now prescribing DoxyPE
MISTR, the telemedicine provider that offers free online PrEP and long-term HIV care in all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico, announced it is now prescribing Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (DoxyPEP), an antibiotic that reduces bacterial STIs, including gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis. Patients can now use MISTR’s telehealth platform to receive DoxyPEP online for free, according to a release from the company.
With this launch, MISTR plans to offer patients access to post-exposure care, in addition to its existing preventive and long-term HIV treatment options, which include PrEP and antiretroviral therapy (ART). This comes at a time when the rate of STIs continue to rise. In 2022, more than 2.5 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia were reported in the U.S; of that population, gay and bisexual men are disproportionately affected, the company reported.
“Despite an ongoing STI epidemic affecting the LGBTQ+ community, there are few resources available for this underserved, vulnerable community to get the preventative medication they need,” said Tristan Schukraft, CEO and founder of MISTR. “I’m proud that MISTR is democratizing access to PrEP, HIV care, and now DoxyPEP.”
An NIH-funded study published by the New England Journal of Medicine in April 2023 found that doxycycline as post-exposure prophylaxis, now known as DoxyPEP, reduced syphilis by 87%, chlamydia by 88%, and gonorrhea by 55% in individuals taking HIV PrEP, and reduced syphilis by 77%, chlamydia by 74% and gonorrhea by 57% in people living with HIV.
MISTR is a telemedicine platform offering free online access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and long-term HIV care Visit mistr.com for more information.
Health
UNAIDS to commemorate Zero Discrimination Day’s 10th anniversary
UN agency urges global action to protect human rights
As the world marks the 10th anniversary of Zero Discrimination Day; UNAIDS is sounding the alarm on the increasing threats to human rights, calling for renewed efforts to protect the rights of all individuals as a fundamental step towards ensuring health for everyone.
Established by UNAIDS a decade ago, Zero Discrimination Day aims to promote equality and fairness regardless of gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity or HIV status. The progress achieved over the past years is now in jeopardy, however, due to rising attacks on the rights of women, LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima emphasized the critical link between protecting human rights and safeguarding public health.
“The attacks on rights are a threat to freedom and democracy and are harmful to health,” she said in a press release. “Stigma and discrimination obstruct HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care and hold back progress towards ending AIDS by 2030. It is only by protecting everyone’s rights that we can protect everyone’s health.”
Despite challenges, there has been notable progress.
At the onset of the AIDS pandemic more than 40 years ago, two-thirds of countries criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. They are now decriminalized in two-thirds of countries. An additional 38 countries around the world have pledged to end HIV-related stigma and discrimination, contributing to positive changes that include 50 million more girls attending school compared to 2015.
To sustain and enhance these advancements; UNAIDS urges global support for women’s rights movements, LGBTQ rights, racial justice, economic justice, climate justice and peace initiatives. By standing with communities advocating for their rights, the U.N. aims to reinforce the collective effort towards a more inclusive and equitable world.
Zero Discrimination Day is observed on March 1.
Events and activities that will take place around the world throughout the month will serve as reminders of the essential lesson and call to action: Protecting everyone’s health is synonymous with protecting everyone’s rights.
“Through upholding rights for all, we will be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and secure a safer, fairer, kinder and happier world — for everyone,” said Byanyima.
Health
New CDC report finds transgender women at higher risk for HIV
More than 1,600 people in seven cities surveyed
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new study report this week that revealed that restricted by employment and housing discrimination and lack of access to needed gender-affirming healthcare for transgender women increasing the risk of contracting HIV.
Researchers reviewed data from a 2019-2020 survey, the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Among Transgender Women, which found that the demographics of HIV/AIDS have been disproportionally high, especially among Black and Latina trans women, who had experienced employment and housing discrimination coupled with lack of access to gender-affirming healthcare.
The Jan. 25 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report was based on data studies of more than 1,600 trans women in seven major urban locales. Participants from Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle were chosen by referrals from people and community-based organizations who knew or were part of the local population of trans women.
The study’s researchers noted: “Employment discrimination occurs at the overlapping nexus of poverty, homelessness, incarceration, health insurance, disability, food insecurity and survival sex work. These issues are interconnected.”
The study stated that trans women’s inability to access quality healthcare, including gender-affirming treatment or access to PrEP, and can expose them to potential incarceration as many turn to “survival sex work” and violence, which increases the risk of contracting HIV.
The study’s author’s pointed out: “When economically marginalized transgender women are refused employment, this refusal cyclically contributes to economic hardships. This analysis …demonstrates the importance of transgender women working and living with dignity and without fear of unfair treatment.”
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