For anyone out there reading my blog...

IMHO .. it's about damn time!

Dr Robert Grant of the Gladstone Institute said: "I think we are in a era where we can see the end of the Aids epidemic."

You can read the full article at the BBC.com.

Allow me to say this; while there are persons who will not take a pill everyday with regularity or consistency, there are others who will and I'd like to think this means me.

But since I do not have HIV, I could NOT get it prescribed to me!  A Catch 22 situation if ever there was one!

In fairness, some health care workers and groups active in the HIV community have opposed the approval of the drug simply because they feel the drug might increase sexual behavior between gay men.  MIGHT?  Who are they kidding?  This drug merely would open the floodgates, gay men are out there in abundance, honey!

IMHO this is the real argument, they simply don't like it when two men have sex with each other.  So much for tolerance from this intelligent, "inclusive", and polite society!

The Aids Health care Foundation actually campaigned against the drug's approval and their main opposition to approving the drug was based on concerns that users could gain a false sense of security, and they fear a new drug-resistant strain of HIV could develop.

I can see the drug resistant concern but ... there is also concern that the high cost of Truvada would make the drug less affordable and divert limited funding from more cost-effective options. 

While the researchers claim it's not, it IS about the money.  Meanwhile many homosexuals will die needlessly.

The irony is that Truvada is already approved by the FDA for people who are HIV-positive, which I am NOT, and it can be taken with existing anti-retroviral drugs, which I do not take.  Studies show that Truvada reduced the risk of HIV in healthy gay men and among HIV-negative heterosexual partners of people who are HIV-positive. 

So why can I NOT get it?  Can you say "doctor's choice"?

The Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee, which advises the FDA, recently voted 19-3 in favor of PRESCRIBING the drug to the highest risk group; that is non-infected men who have sex with multiple male partners.  Duh?  They also approved it for uninfected people with HIV-positive partners and for other groups considered at risk of acquiring HIV through sexual activity.

This is a dream come true for everyone who has sex.  It's what I've been asking for my entire gay and trans-life, nothing more.

Mark it on your calendars!  The FDA is expected to make its decision by 15 June.

In other related news.

Neil Bowdler, Science reporter working for BBC News reported;

Almost 2,500 gay or bisexual men were randomly selected in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand and the United States.  Half were given the pill, half were given dummy tablets.  All were also given condoms and counselling on safe sex.

What the researchers found after almost a year of testing was that the drug appeared to cut male-to-male HIV transmission by 44%.  Those who took the pill regularly were deemed to have reduced their risk of infection further, by up to 73%.

And to think it only took a year.

The research was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the federal US body, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).  The pills were donated by their manufacturer.

There is, however, the issue of the prohibitive cost of Truvada, which retails in the US for around $36 a day which makes the drug unaffordable to potential users.

No one is going to make it easy (or cheap!) for us!

In yet another related story; my full attention was directed here because this means trans-women exactly like me; we who have low morals.

An Over-the-counter HIV test kit which would allow people in the US to check themselves in the privacy of their homes, as to whether they have the virus or not, is a step closer.

You can read about that hopeful and helpful article at, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18081933

So, while it appears we're making progress (ha-ha) we're still on our own and we'll have to rely on each other and do whatever it takes to be ourselves.