Plus 126 September October 2018

BECAUSE YOU’RE MORE THAN YOUR STATUS

#LOVEWINS

FAMED TV HOST MARC MALKIN & HUSBAND FABIAN QUEZADA-MALKIN ARE HAPPY, HIV-POSITIVE, AND LIVING THE DREAM

WHITEWASHING HIV HISTORY SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 www.hivplusmag.com

00_PLUS126_Cover_FINAL.indd 1

GAY MEN, HIV, & THE CAMPUS POLICE

7/19/18 11:11 AM

What is BIKTARVY®?

BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements.

BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about BIKTARVY? BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects: ` Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection.

If you have both HIV-1 and HBV and stop taking BIKTARVY, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

Who should not take BIKTARVY? Do not take BIKTARVY if you take: ` dofetilide ` rifampin ` any other medicines to treat HIV-1

What are the other possible side effects of BIKTARVY? Serious side effects of BIKTARVY may also include: ` Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking BIKTARVY. ` Kidney problems, including kidney failure.

Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys.

If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking BIKTARVY. ` Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death.

Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. ` Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

The most common side effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (5%), and headache (5%). Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or don’t go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking BIKTARVY? ` All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection. ` All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements. BIKTARVY and other medicines may affect each other. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist, and ask if it is safe to take BIKTARVY with all of your other medicines. ` If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if BIKTARVY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking BIKTARVY. ` If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

B

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Ask your healthcare provider if BIKTARVY is right for you.

Please see Important Facts about BIKTARVY, including important warnings, on the following page.

BVYC0047_BIKTARVY_A_7-875x10-5_Plus_KeepLoving_r1v2jl.indd 2-3 18680 Biktarvy Plus 126 spread.indd 2

7/6/18 8:38 AM

Get HIV support by downloading a free app at MyDailyCharge.com

KEEP LOVING. Because HIV doesn’t change who you are.

BIKTARVY is a 1-pill, once-a-day complete HIV-1 treatment for adults who are either new to treatment or whose healthcare provider determines they can replace their current HIV-1 medicines with BIKTARVY.

BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

BIKTARVY.COM

18680 Biktarvy Plus 126 spread.indd 3

7/3/18 1:08 PM 7/6/18 8:38 AM

IMPORTANT FACTS This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY® and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

(bik-TAR-vee) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY may cause serious side L LJ[Z PUJS\KPUN! ₔ Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. 0M `V\ OH]L IV[O /0= HUK /)= `V\Y /)= TH` Z\KKLUS` NL[ ^VYZL PM `V\ Z[VW [HRPUN )02;(9=@ +V UV[ Z[VW [HRPUN )02;(9=@ ^P[OV\[ ÄYZ[ [HSRPUN [V `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY HZ [OL` ^PSS ULLK [V JOLJR `V\Y OLHS[O YLN\SHYS` MVY ZL]LYHS TVU[OZ

ABOUT BIKTARVY )02;(9=@ PZ H JVTWSL[L WPSS VUJL H KH` WYLZJYPW[PVU TLKPJPUL \ZLK [V [YLH[ /0= PU HK\S[Z 0[ JHU LP[OLY IL \ZLK PU WLVWSL ^OV OH]L UL]LY [HRLU /0= TLKPJPULZ ILMVYL VY WLVWSL ^OV HYL YLWSHJPUN [OLPY J\YYLU[ /0= TLKPJPULZ HUK ^OVZL OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY KL[LYTPULZ [OL` TLL[ JLY[HPU YLX\PYLTLU[Z BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. /0= PZ [OL ]PY\Z [OH[ JH\ZLZ (0+: Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine [OH[ JVU[HPUZ! â‚” KVML[PSPKL â‚” YPMHTWPU â‚” HU` V[OLY TLKPJPULZ [V [YLH[ /0=

BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY Tell your healthcare provider all your medical JVUKP[PVUZ PUJS\KPUN PM `V\! â‚” /H]L VY OH]L OHK HU` RPKUL` VY SP]LY WYVISLTZ PUJS\KPUN OLWH[P[PZ PUMLJ[PVU â‚” (YL WYLNUHU[ VY WSHU [V ILJVTL WYLNUHU[ â‚” (YL IYLHZ[MLLKPUN U\YZPUN VY WSHU [V IYLHZ[MLLK +V UV[ IYLHZ[MLLK PM `V\ OH]L /0= ILJH\ZL VM [OL YPZR VM WHZZPUN /0= [V `V\Y IHI` Tell your healthcare provider about all the TLKPJPULZ `V\ [HRL! â‚” 2LLW H SPZ[ [OH[ PUJS\KLZ HSS WYLZJYPW[PVU HUK V]LY [OL JV\U[LY TLKPJPULZ HU[HJPKZ SH_H[P]LZ ]P[HTPUZ HUK OLYIHS Z\WWSLTLU[Z HUK ZOV^ P[ [V `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY HUK WOHYTHJPZ[ â‚” (ZR `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY VY WOHYTHJPZ[ HIV\[ TLKPJPULZ [OH[ PU[LYHJ[ ^P[O )02;(9=@

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY BIKTARVY can cause serious side L LJ[Z PUJS\KPUN! ₔ ;OVZL PU [OL ¸4VZ[ 0TWVY[HU[ 0UMVYTH[PVU (IV\[ )02;(9=@¹ ZLJ[PVU ₔ *OHUNLZ PU `V\Y PTT\UL Z`Z[LT ₔ 5L^ VY ^VYZL RPKUL` WYVISLTZ PUJS\KPUN RPKUL` MHPS\YL ₔ ;VV T\JO SHJ[PJ HJPK PU `V\Y ISVVK SHJ[PJ HJPKVZPZ ^OPJO PZ H ZLYPV\Z I\[ YHYL TLKPJHS LTLYNLUJ` [OH[ JHU SLHK [V KLH[O ;LSS `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY YPNO[ H^H` PM `V\ NL[ [OLZL Z`TW[VTZ! ^LHRULZZ VY ILPUN TVYL [PYLK [OHU \Z\HS \U\Z\HS T\ZJSL WHPU ILPUN ZOVY[ VM IYLH[O VY MHZ[ IYLH[OPUN Z[VTHJO WHPU ^P[O UH\ZLH HUK ]VTP[PUN JVSK VY IS\L OHUKZ HUK MLL[ MLLS KPaa` VY SPNO[OLHKLK VY H MHZ[ VY HIUVYTHS OLHY[ILH[ ₔ :L]LYL SP]LY WYVISLTZ ^OPJO PU YHYL JHZLZ JHU SLHK [V KLH[O ;LSS `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY YPNO[ H^H` PM `V\ NL[ [OLZL Z`TW[VTZ! ZRPU VY [OL ^OP[L WHY[ VM `V\Y L`LZ [\YUZ `LSSV^ KHYR ¸[LH JVSVYLK¹ \YPUL SPNO[ JVSVYLK Z[VVSZ SVZZ VM HWWL[P[L MVY ZL]LYHS KH`Z VY SVUNLY UH\ZLH VY Z[VTHJO HYLH WHPU ₔ ;OL TVZ[ JVTTVU ZPKL L LJ[Z VM )02;(9=@ PU JSPUPJHS Z[\KPLZ ^LYL KPHYYOLH UH\ZLH

HUK OLHKHJOL

;OLZL HYL UV[ HSS [OL WVZZPISL ZPKL L LJ[Z VM )02;(9=@ ;LSS `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY YPNO[ H^H` PM `V\ OH]L HU` UL^ Z`TW[VTZ ^OPSL [HRPUN )02;(9=@ Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.

HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY ;HRL )02;(9=@ [PTL LHJO KH` ^P[O VY ^P[OV\[ MVVK

GET MORE INFORMATION â‚” ;OPZ PZ VUS` H IYPLM Z\TTHY` VM PTWVY[HU[ PUMVYTH[PVU HIV\[ )02;(9=@ ;HSR [V `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY VY WOHYTHJPZ[ [V SLHYU TVYL â‚” .V [V )02;(9=@ JVT VY JHSS .03,(+ â‚” 0M `V\ ULLK OLSW WH`PUN MVY `V\Y TLKPJPUL ]PZP[ )02;(9=@ JVT MVY WYVNYHT PUMVYTH[PVU

)02;(9=@ [OL )02;(9=@ 3VNV +(03@ */(9., [OL +(03@ */(9., 3VNV 36=, >/(;»: 05:0+, .03,(+ HUK [OL .03,(+ 3VNV HYL [YHKLTHYRZ VM .PSLHK :JPLUJLZ 0UJ VY P[Z YLSH[LK JVTWHUPLZ =LYZPVU KH[L! -LIY\HY` .PSLHK :JPLUJLZ 0UJ (SS YPNO[Z YLZLY]LK )@=*

BVYC0047_BIKTARVY_A_7-875x10-5_Plus_KeepLoving_r1v2jl.indd 4 18681 Biktarvy Plus 126 PI.indd 1

7/3/18 1:08 PM 7/6/18 8:38 AM

IN THIS ISSUE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

COURTESY ARIEL SABILLON (17); SAM DAHMAN (46); DESIREE GUERRERO (14)

17

24 14

46

ON THE COVER

24 THE POWER OF LOVE E! entertainment reporter Marc Malkin and his beauty guru husband, Fabian Quezeda-Malkin, say their love for each other has given them the strength to overcome immigration and addiction issues—and to come out as HIV-positive.

FEATURES 14

FORGOTTEN ONES The whitewashing of HIV history has buried stories of men of color, including Robert Rayford, one of the first known people to die of HIV-related complications in the U.S.

17

CAMPUS CONTROVERSY An HIVpositive student is battling campus police over alleged HIV exposure.

46 ART, HIV & FASHION Morphew’s show at AQUA Art Miami used fashion to honor poz artist Keith Harding.

Cover and above left: Marc Malkin and Fabian Quezada-Malkin, photographed by Luke Fontana.

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

03-04_PLUS125_TOC_FINAL.indd 3

3

7/19/18 11:25 AM

IN THIS ISSUE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

33

36 35

BUZZWORTHY 8

DOWN LOW DANGER The latest research reveals that closeted men who have sex with men have increased HIV risks.

8

LONG-TERM SUPPORT New programs in New York help longterm surviviors.

9

LUNCH MONEY Indiana gets a million dollar grant to help bring proper nutrition to those living with HIV in the state.

DAILY DOSE 33

BUH-BYE! Tyler Curry-McGrath explains how to kick that pesky voice to the curb.

HEALTH

RESISTANCE 35

FAMILY MATTERS One poz man's journey from homelessness to happiness.

ART

45 HIDDEN HARINGS Two largescale works by late poz artist Keith Haring are on display in Europe, after 30-plus years in the dark.

4

TREATMENT 38

MIGHTY MOUSE Science hones in on brain issues associated with HIV using mice.

39 TWO'S COMPANY A two-drug regimen seeks FDA approval.

43 PREP PRICE DROP? A generic version may soon be available.

44 ANOTHER ROUND New drug may aid in alcohol recovery and help suppress HIV.

CHILL

36 SAFE IS SEXY Actor Milan Christopher gets real about PrEP.

PREVENTION 53

TAKE A SHOT Researchers get even closer to an HIV vaccine.

PARTING GLANCES

56 AN INNOCENT MAN "Patient Zero" is finally set free from infamy. It's time we realized that.

CHRIS STEWART (36); SHUTTERSTOCK (33); COURTESY TREE ALEXANDER (35)

34 EQUALITY = HEALTHY A recent study says same-sex marriage is good for gay men.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

03-04_PLUS125_TOC_FINAL.indd 4

7/19/18 11:25 AM

CHILL CHILL

URBAN DICTIONARY DEF: COOL, TIGHT, WICKED, SICK, SWEET, NICE, EASY GOING, SEX URBAN DICTIONARY DEF: COOL, TIGHT, WICKED, OUR DEF: A NEW MEN’S MAG THAT’S ALL THAT ANDSICK, MORE SWEET, NICE, EASY GOING, SEX P R E M I E R I N G A P R I L / M AY 2 0 1 8 OUR DEF: A NEW MEN’S MAG THAT’S ALL THAT AND MORE CHILL.US P R E M I E R I N G A P R I L / M AY 2 0 1 8 CHILL.US CHILL.US

CHILL_MODEL_012918_text.indd 18566 Chill AD.indd 11 2 Chill_Ad_Plus.indd

1/29/18 3:51 2/20/18 4:29 PM 2:23 3/20/18

editor in chief DIANE ANDERSON-MINSHALL • svp, group publisher JOE VALENTINO associate publisher PAIGE POPDAN

creative director RAINE BASCOS associate art director PATRICK MADISON deputy editor JACOB ANDERSON-MINSHALL senior editor SAVAS ABADSIDIS managing editor DAVID ARTAVIA associate editor DESIRÉE GUERRERO assistant to the editor DONALD PADGETT editorial interns NAYIRAH MUHAMMAD, ASHLEY SCHEIBELHUT contributing editors KHAFRE ABIF, TYLER CURRY-MCGRATH, MARK S. KING, ZACHARY ZANE mental health editor GARY MCCLAIN contributing writers BENJAMIN M. ADAMS, REA CAREY, JESSE MILAN JR. creative director, digital media DAVE JOHNSON interactive art director CHRISTOPHER HARRITY online photo and graphics producers MICHAEL LUONG, TEVY KHOU front end developer MAYRA URRUTIA senior drupal developer NICHOLAS ALIPAZ, SR. traffic manager KEVIN BISSADA manager, digital media LAURA VILLELA svp, publishing, integrated partnerships GREG BROSSIA senior director, integrated partnerships STUART BROCKINGTON director, integrated partnerships ADAM GOLDBERG director, integrated marketing BRANDON GRANT associate directors, integrated marketing JAMIE TREDWELL, ANDREW PARK senior manager, integrated marketing ERIC JAMES manager, integrated marketing CASEY NOBLE associate director, events JOHN O’MALLEY designer, integrated marketing MICHAEL LOMBARDO coordinator, integrated sales & marketing MICHAEL TIGHE senior director, ad operations STEWART NACHT manager, ad operations TIFFANY KESDEN editor, social media DANIEL REYNOLDS branded content producer LENNY GERARD branded content writer IAN MARTELLA senior fulfillment manager ARGUS GALINDO operations director KIRK PACHECO office manager HEIDI MEDINA print production director JOHN LEWIS

PRIDE MEDIA chief executive officer NATHAN COYLE president LUCAS GRINDLEY executive vice presidents JOE LANDRY, BERNARD ROOK senior vice presidents GREG BROSSIA, JOE VALENTINO vice president ERIC BUI human resources ANTIOUSE BOARDRAYE ADVERTISING & SUBSCRIPTIONS Phone (212) 242-8100 • Advertising Fax (212) 242-8338 Subscriptions Fax (212) 242-8338 LOS ANGELES EDITORIAL Phone (310) 806-4288 • Fax (310) 806-4268 • Email editor@HIVPlusMag.com SOUTHWEST EDITORIAL OFFICES Retrograde Communications • Phone (951) 927-8727 Email editor@HIVPlusMag.com FREE BULK SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR YOUR OFFICE OR GROUP Any organization, community-based group, pharmacy, physicians’ office, support group, or other agency can request bulk copies for free distribution at your office, meeting, or facility. To subscribe, visit HIVPlusMag.com/signup.

There is a 10-copy minimum.

FREE DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS Plus magazine is available free to individual subscribers—a digital copy of each issue can be delivered to the privacy of your computer or reader six times per year. We require only your email address to initiate delivery. You may also share your digital copies with friends. To subscribe, visit HIVPlusMag.com/signup.

NEED SUBSCRIPTION HELP? If you have any questions or problems with your bulk or individual magazine delivery, please email our circulation department at Argus.Galindo@pridemedia.com.

Plus (ISSN 1522-3086) is published bimonthly by Here Publishing Inc. Plus is a registered trademark of Here Publishing Inc. Entire contents © 2018 by Here Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

Facebook.com/ HIVPlusMag

6

Twitter.com/ HIVPlusMag

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

06_PLUS126_Masthead_FINAL.indd 6

7/19/18 11:28 AM

EDITOR’S LETTER

Looking good in a T-shirt led ABC entertainment reporter KARL SCHMID to come out HIV-positive in a social media post that went viral. Now, we’re all mad about the guy.

By Savas Abadsidis / Photography by Luke Fontana Stylist: Aisha Rae / Assistant stylist: Angel Cross Grooming: Calvin Scott

SUIT BY KLEIN EPSTEIN & PARKER @KEPREBELS WHITE BUTTONUP SHIRT BY DOM BAGNATO @DOMBAGNATO

30

TONY DONALDSON (ANDERSON-MINSHALL); LUKE FONTANA (ALL OTHERS)

A F E W M O N T H S ago, when ABC TV’s Karl

Schmid came out on the cover of Plus (pictured top right), we lauded him as one of the first TV reporters to speak out about living with HIV. Knowing that hundreds of thousands of people watch him on the telly each week meant that he has an enormous audience—and viewers now feel like they “know” someone with HIV. We got fan mail for Karl, of course, but he turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving. A month after his issue came out, he encouraged his friend to reach out as well. That friend, the man ready to come out about living with HIV, is this issue’s cover star: famed entertainment journalist and longtime E! News correspondent, Marc Malkin (and his husband Fabian Quezada-Malkin, one of the most sought-after hair colorists in Beverly Hills).

Last year, as Marc announced he was leaving E! after more than a decade, The Hollywood Reporter called him “one of the most beloved figures of the Hollywood red carpet and events scene.” By then, Malkin said he’d covered “over 100 film festivals, nearly a gazillion red carpets and award shows, and countless features and stories along the way.”

Long before he was a television fixture, he was an out gay media stalwart, working everywhere from Premier magazine to US Weekly (and he got his start at Bay Windows, an LGBT weekly in Boston).

Why does this matter? Because E! is a global pop culture pioneer and the seventh most-watched TV entertainment network among people under 35. E! News, in fact, reaches millions of millennials—more than any other entertainment news competitor.

That’s millions of young people who look up to Marc, who now not only know that it’s OK to be gay and quirky (he’s both), to marry an immigrant, to fight for LGBT rights, and have a great career—but also to do so while living with HIV.

JULY / AUGUST 2018

SHOES BY COLE HAAN @COLEHAAN

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

31

Both poz, Marc and Fabian are long-term survivors who are healthy and so fit they rode their bikes nearly 600 miles for AIDS Life/Cycle. They’re handsome, smart, and funny. Though they came to HIV differently (Fabian was poz, undocumented, and homeless at 17), their relationship has made both men stronger. That’s the kind of role models we all need.

But Marc has used his visibility not just to model, but also to talk honestly about addiction and what he calls the community’s new epidemic: crystal meth. “We must, as a community, face the realities of crystal meth in stronger ways. I don’t have the answers, but like being HIV-positive, crystal meth use is often, if not usually, kept a secret. I kept my use a secret for years. It wasn’t until I confided in some of my closest friends about what was going on that I finally started reaching out for help.”

Coming out poz is getting easier, and it should. Coming out about being a meth addict, any kind of substance abuser, or someone with alcohol use disorder is an act of sheer bravery still today. It should not be. Watching Marc Malkin and his husband make screen doors where there were previously only walls, still gives me chills.

These copilots are on a steady course, and I hope it gives you all the feels.

It did for me.

DIANE ANDERSON-MINSHALL EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITOR@HIVPLUSMAG.COM

COPILOTS IN LOVE & LIFE Marc Malkin (left) and husband Fabian Quezada-Malkin share their stories with the world.

And it gives us hope.

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

07_PLUS126_Ed Letter_FINAL.indd 7

7

7/19/18 11:29 AM

BUZZWORTHY

Keeping it On the Down Low?

WHAT’S ALL THE HUBBUB? Yoga, massage, counseling, and a buddy system help long-term survivors.

Two recent studies focused on HIV transmission rates among closeted gay and bisexual men in the United Kingdom (one published in the June issue of The Lancelot). Among their discoveries? Six percent of men who identified as “straight” at the time of their HIV diagnosis had reportedly acquired the virus through sex with men. Those same men also underestimated their own risks of contracting HIV and were less likely to be educated about those risks.

With funding from The National Institutes of Health, the team of scientists and researchers from The University of Edinburgh studied participants’ behavioral patterns. According to The Times, the team used a national archive of anonymous data to study patterns of HIV transmission, analyzing the genetic code of HIV samples from 14,405 people living with HIV in the U.K. The team was able to create networks of linked transmissions to piece together how the virus was transmitted and identified a total of 249 closeted men who have sex with men in a network of subjects. The most recent study referred to this specific sub-group of straight men who have sex with other men as “potential nondisclosed MSM,” or pnMSM, in its findings.

8

The study stated that the closeted men (pnMSM) were “a subgroup distinct from both MSM and from heterosexual men.” Overall, researchers found that the group of men identified tended to have fewer sex partners and preferred to partner with each other—behavior that could contribute to underestimating their risk. While pnMSM were generally good at using condoms consistently, the study showed they commonly avoided getting tested for HIV for long periods of time. There was little evidence that this population transmitted HIV to either out gay or bi men or heterosexual women.

Andrew Leigh Brown, of the School of Biological Sciences and the lead investigator of the study told The Times, “Nondisclosed men who have sex with men are more likely to [contract HIV] by each other than by openly gay men and less likely to be aware of their risk.”

By not being a part of the queer community or spending time with gay or bi men who are out, closeted MSM also unknowingly distance themselves from HIV awareness programs and testing facilities.

“The finding shows that public health messages should be targeted specifically at this neglected group,” Brown said.

—BENJAMIN M. ADAMS

New York-based health organization GMHC recently launched The Terry Brenneis Hub for Long-Term Survivors, a bevy of programs and services that will specifically support people who have been living with HIV for a decade or more.

Some of the services offered by the Hub include: dedicated long-term survivor support groups, one-on-one mental health and substance use counseling, specific social events, workshops, meals and nutritional counseling, on-site pharmacy, medication management, and assistance with managing healthcare benefits and social security-related issues.

The Buddy Program, one of GMHC’s original programs, which was relaunched in 2015 specifically for the long-term survivor community, is also part of the Hub, as are new workforce placement and job readiness services.

Additional complementary therapies and wellness programs—chair yoga, acupuncture, and massage—are aimed at whole body wellness.

The Hub was named in honor of Terry Brenneis, who GMHC’s Gregg Bruckno explains, was “a long-term survivor who at times struggled with the problems prevalent in this population: depression, loneliness, substance use, and lipodystrophy. He was emblematic of the difficulties in managing this complex ride.

He struggled and overcame a great deal with the support of family, friends, and doctors.

But we lost him far too early. He now will be remembered as part of a movement he would be so proud to represent.”

Bruckno says that GMHC began working with long-term survivors long “before the

SHUTTERSTOCK (BOTH)

Straight-identified men who have sex with men underestimate their risk of HIV, even more than out gay and bi men do.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

08-09_PLUS126_Buzzworthy_FINAL.indd 8

7/19/18 11:40 AM

SHUTTERSTOCK

term long-term survivor was coined. But, through the Hub, we’re now codifying our work with these folks and giving them a central contact at the agency. I work as the dedicated long-term survivor specialist, and it’s my job to connect self-identified long-term survivors to resources at GMHC and elsewhere. I also conduct forums and workshops… participate in coalitions to promote information-sharing, and advocate for the long-term survivor community.”

At GMHC, Bruckno says, “We evolve with the epidemic. Starting in the mid-2000s, studies began to show that, because of incredible advances in medication, there was a fastgrowing population of people who were living much longer with HIV—way beyond what many people expected. That was amazing news, of course, but it also presented a host of new challenges for those folks, as well as for organizations providing services to them."

According to Bruckno, about 41 percent of the organization’s 13,000 clients are age 50 and older—and it estimates that about half of them are long-term survivors. As the epidemic in the United States continues to evolve, longterm survivors are gradually becoming one of the key populations. “So while we want to prevent new infections in communities that are most at risk, we also want to ensure that longterm survivors have the tools and support network to help them stay on medication and lead healthy lives.”

Having worked with the long-term survivor community for many years, GMHC realized they had unique needs that were different from those newly diagnosed. That’s especially true of those who lived through the worst of the plague years and lost much of their support systems. “So as we considered all of this and looked at our program offerings, it became clear that we needed two things: staff who were dedicated to working with long-term survivors, and programs designed specifically for them.”

Of course, this new focus doesn’t distract from the agency’s commitment to providing other HIV treatment or prevention resources, Bruckno says.

“At GMHC, we serve anyone who is living with or at risk of HIV infection. Full stop. That means we work with young men who have sex with men of color, transgender people, women, older MSM, and everyone in between. But we also use data to tell us the populations that require special attention, and the data tell us that, in addition to targeting younger people with PrEP and other prevention tools, long-term survivors need our help. Our work isn’t a zerosum game, and, luckily, we have the resources necessary to work across populations.”

—SAVAS ABADSIDIS

ONE MILLION DOLLARS That’s how much Indiana will get to feed those living with HIV.

A $ 1 M I L L I O N federal grant will

fund a new Indiana Meals on Wheels program, providing “medicallytailored” meals to over 2,500 residents living with HIV. Multiple findings suggest that a healthy diet dramatically affects the prognosis and overall outcome for those living with HIV. The effectiveness of HIV drugs can also be dramatically impacted by diet, making when and what poz people eat critically important.

With the aim of improving the health of residents living with HIV, Indiana State Department of Health is teaming up with Meals on Wheels of Central Indiana to launch the new statewide meal program, Ryan’s Meals for Life. It was named after Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who became HIVpositive after a 1984 blood transfusion and then was barred from returning to school over AIDS fears.

The new effort was first sparked when t h e In d i a n a Meals on Wheels organization joined the Food i s Me d i c i n e Coalition—which was initially founded as a resource for people battling AIDS before effective antiretrovirals were developed and changing one’s diet was one of the few options for poz folks to selfmedicate. Since the 1980s, the food as medicine movement has expanded to serve more than 200 chronic diseases. In the beginnings of the epidemic, simply keeping food down could be a struggle for many people living with HIV, but now the focus is on maintaining a healthy body.

Ryan’s Meals for Life received the $1 million in funding via the state’s department of health, through a federal Ryan White Supplemental Award. The federal Ryan White

HIV/AIDS Program provides grant funding for states and territories.

“This funding has allowed ISDH to be more innovative in its continued work to enhance the lives of those who are living with HIV,” HIV/STD/ Hepatitis Division director Dennis Stover told local news station WEHT. “This groundbreaking program is something we’ve not had in Indiana before.”

Clients will receive food assistance via 17 agencies at 23 locations across Indiana that provide services to people living with HIV. Food recipients get to choose whether they receive hot or cold meals. If a client lives outside the Meals on Wheels delivery area, frozen meals will be prepared

by Eskenazi Health (an Indianapolisbased health care provider) and shipped directly to their homes.

Organizers say that the program has about 150 clients signed up as of early June, and they continue to receive about 10 new clients per day. In addition, the organization’s care coordinators will work in tandem with each client’s physician or specialist to ensure that their diet aligns with their health care needs.

Meals on Wheels will keep track of each client’s data, including HIV viral load, CD4 levels, weight, and appetite.

Staying healthy for people living with HIV is a balancing act that requires both effective antiretroviral medication and a healthy diet. People living with HIV who eat well are also more likely to adhere to their drug regimen, meaning this kind of program can improve poz people’s health outcomes while also reducing HIV transmissions. —BMA HIVPLUSMAG.COM

08-09_PLUS126_Buzzworthy_FINAL_REVISED.indd 9

9

7/23/18 8:10 AM

Whitewashing

HIV History The death of ROBERT RAYFORD symbolizes how the story of HIV has been told through a white lens for nearly 50 years.

BY REA CAREY & JESSE MILAN, JR. + ILLUSTRATION BY DESIRÉE GUERRERO

ifty years ago, a frightened 15-year-old black youth checked into Missouri’s St. Louis City Hospital with unusual symptoms that puzzled doctors. His legs were swollen, and soon, so was his entire body. No treatment seemed to work, even after seven weeks of antibiotics.

Doctors suspected he may have acquired chlamydia from a same-sex partner, but the youth never said he had. For six months, he continued to deteriorate—until May 1969, when the sweet, shy teen lost his life to the disease that baffled medical personnel.

His name was Robert Rayford, and he is the first known person to die of HIV-related conditions in the United States. He died one month before the Stonewall riots of June 1969, led by queer and trans people of color, which we now honor each year with annual Pride celebrations.

At that time, no one knew what HIV was. It would be another 12 years before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a mysterious pneumonia and immune deficiency that had afflicted “five young men, all active homosexuals.” Deaths started mounting in 1981, and HIV would not be identified by scientists until 1984. In 1987, HIV was found in Rayford’s tissue samples. Very few noticed.

The CDC’s campaign, Start Talking. Stop HIV, rightly states the obvious: We must talk about this virus with one another to stop it from spreading, and tell our collective stories to fight stigma. But if we are really going to stop HIV, we need to talk about how it continues to have a disparate impact on communities of color. We must tell the story of Rayford, and so many more.

14

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

14-16_PLUS126_FEA_Whitewashing_FINAL.indd 14

7/19/18 11:44 AM

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

14-16_PLUS126_FEA_Whitewashing_FINAL.indd 15

15

7/19/18 11:44 AM

By the time Rayford’s case was identified, a different narrative about who was perishing from HIV had already begun, focusing on white gay men. But the narrative ignores others, and is deeply rooted in racial insensitivity and injustice played out time and again in the LGBT community’s history.

In 1981, when the CDC reported five young gay men had come down with pneumonia, the report didn’t indicate their race—which at the time meant they were all white. Two additional cases of black men (one a gay African-American, the other a heterosexual Haitian) were not mentioned at all. The doctor who wrote the report, Michael Gottlieb, told The New York Times in 2017, “Until recently, I wouldn’t have thought it mattered.”

The face of HIV became a French-Canadian flight attendant, Gaëtan Dugas, who was vilified in journalist Randy Shilts’s book on the initial outbreak, And the Band Played On. Shilts portrayed Dugas as a promiscuous “sociopath” who spread the virus across the country. The media dubbed him Patient Zero, and the New York Post even ran a headline in 1987 calling Dugas “The Man Who Gave Us AIDS.” The claim that Dugas was the first person to bring HIV into the U.S. was disproved by researchers in November 2016 through genetic testing (read more on page 48), but during the 1980s the narrative was set. In pop culture, films that tackled the history of HIV, from Philadelphia to the more recent adaptation of The Normal Heart, look at HIV through a predominantly white, gay, male lens. Even a recent art exhibition on HIV perpetuated an almost exclusively white perspective by selecting an overwhelming number of white artists (88), compared to just nine Latinx and four black artists.

This white history of HIV neglects Rayford’s tragic experience and the fact that he is not the last black person—or even queer person of color—to lose their life to HIV. He was the first victim of what would become a scandalous trend in the emerging epidemic: HIV’s devastating and wildly disproportionate impact on black communities, especially black gay and bisexual men.

Since the virus was discovered, black people have made up 43 percent of all HIV deaths in the United States, yet African-Americans are only about 13 percent of the U.S. population.

Black gay and bisexual men accounted for 26 percent of all new HIV cases in 2016, despite representing less than two percent of America’s total population. Of the 1.1 million Americans living with HIV today, almost 475,000 of them— more than any other racial group—are black.

Almost 150,000 of them are black gay and bi men.

16

Silence equals death.

Especially when too many black and brown gay, bisexual, and transgender people have died and continue to die from HIV. Rayford’s death marked the beginning of our national HIV crisis. And like so many other stories of black and brown experiences, their stories of living with HIV rarely get told.

One example of our collective erasure of black and brown people living with HIV was seen in 2015, when multiple celebrities took to Twitter to congratulate Lester Holt for being the “first black news anchor” on broadcast news— forgetting former ABC World News Tonight anchor Max Robinson, who died from AIDS complications in 1988.

Silence equals death. And too many black and brown gay, bisexual, and transgender people have died and continue to die from HIV, but their stories are not being heard. More deaths from AIDS occur today in the South than in any other region, and those deaths are overwhelmingly of black and brown people, many are part of the LGBT community.

Queer people of color’s experiences with HIV matter, and when we push their stories out of view, we put these communities at even greater risk. Their stories of today must be told, or we will never get to the end of the HIV epidemic. Black men make up 38 percent of all new diagnoses among gay and bisexual men, and the CDC predicts that if trends continue as they exist today, one out of every two gay and bisexual black men can expect to acquire HIV during their lifetime. For Latino gay and bisexual men, the figure is one of every four.

Perhaps the most disturbing finding by the CDC is this recent estimate: 56 percent of black transgender women may already be living with the virus.

The whitewashing of queer and trans experiences isn’t just in the narratives we see with HIV, but all across media, as well as within the LGBT community. We owe it to everyone who has faced living with HIV and dying from AIDS to take part in the struggle to stop the virus—and to do that, we need to start talking, get tested, and uplift the stories of LGBT people of color. If we don’t, who will?

Rea Carey is the executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force. Jesse Milan Jr. is the president and CEO of AIDS United.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

14-16_PLUS126_FEA_Whitewashing_FINAL.indd 16

7/19/18 11:44 AM

THE LAWS AGAINST POTENTIAL HIV EXPOSURE HAVE FILTERED BACK DOWN TO COLLEGE CAMPUSES, AND A NEW STUDENT’S STORY IS AT THE CENTER.

SHUTTERSTOCK

BY DAVID ARTAVIA

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

17-19_PLUS126_FEA_HIV Campus_FINAL.indd 17

17

7/19/18 11:53 AM

many states, HIV-specific laws continue to perpetuate stigma while working against modern public health policies. These laws make potential HIV exposure a felony and continue to put innocent people in prison for simply having sex while HIV-positive—even if they’re undetectable, which means they can’t transmit the virus, or if no risky sexual interactions took place.

When these state laws were first enacted, HIV fearmongering poisoned the media pipeline and it was framed not only as a “gay disease” but also as the death sentence it once was. Such state laws began taking effect in 1986 and increased dramatically after the passage of the 1990 federal Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, which mandated states enact criminal laws to prosecute anyone with HIV for knowingly exposing someone else to it. Many of these laws equate HIV exposure (not necessarily transmission) with murder, demonstrating the depth of fears about the virus and poz people.

Even as antiretroviral medicines entered the market a decade later, these laws remained on the books. Today, HIV treatment can suppress the virus to such low levels in the bloodstream (that’s “undetectable”) that it becomes impossible to transmit HIV to sexual partners. Yet that hasn’t changed the language of HIV criminalization laws in dozens of states.

Now, a new generation is being punished—one that never saw the AIDS crisis up close—young gay and bi men of color especially, who have always known HIV to be a treatable chronic condition. Under this scope, it’s even harder to concede that having sex while poz can be a crime justifying decades behind bars (several poz people have been sentenced to 30 years for allegedly having sex without disclosure).

Ariel Sabillon, a queer-identified son of Honduran immigrants in Florida, has been a staunch advocate for HIV and immigration reform. During the past legislative session in his state, he helped to stall House Bill 9, an anti-immigrant law that banned “sanctuary cities.” He is also part of the Florida HIV Justice Coalition to modernize HIV crime laws.

The first in his family to go to high school and the first to go to college, Sabillon now awaits a decision that could threaten his future. At a large public university in Florida, a male student alleges that Sabillon didn’t disclose his status to him before they had oral sex (because the case is ongoing, Sabillon can’t name the school or his accuser).

Sabillon, who is poz, was already undetectable and clearly educated on sexual health before hooking up with the student last January. He even tried to educate the accuser before things escalated.

A few weeks after they met up, “he randomly texted me,” Sabillon says. “He’s like, ‘Yo, do you have HIV?’ And I said, ‘Yeah. Honestly, yeah. I’m undetectable, so you’re fine.’ He freaked out and I was like, ‘Why are you freaking out? The science is there.’ He’s like, ‘The science is wrong. There’s still a chance, even if you’re undetectable, even if it was oral sex.’”

Sabillon tried to explain there’s virtually no risk of contracting HIV through oral sex (unlike other STIs like syphilis or chlamydia), but the student turned aggressive and threatened to report Sabillon to the dean of the school.

He was also going to get tested for HIV. “He’s like, ‘If I test positive, I am going to report this to the authorities.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, but that won’t be necessary, because you’re not positive. You’re fine.’ [But] it scared me,” 18

YO, DO YOU HAVE HIV? Sabillon admits, suddenly worried about the damage his accuser could do. “I was like, ‘Oh, shit. I could have really fucked up everything. I could just lose everything right now.’”

Under current laws, HIV is easily interpreted as a deadly weapon wielded by poz people who have sex with, spit on, or otherwise share bodily fluids with someone who believes they are HIV-negative— again, even in situations where these exchanges have virtually no chance of transmitting the virus. Twentyfour states in the country have laws that require poz people to disclose their status to sexual partners, while 14 states require disclosure to needlesharing partners. Twenty-five in total criminalize behaviors that pose very low risk for HIV-negative partners (like oral sex), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some states are leading the charge to update laws that criminalize HIV. Earlier this year, North Carolina amended its legal language so that if an HIV-positive person is virally suppressed for at least six months, they no longer need to disclose their status, nor can they be charged for having condomless sex with an HIV-negative partner. (While this language clearly does not protect those newly diagnosed—treated under six months—legislators say that it’s at least an improvement and continue to advocate more changes.)

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

17-19_PLUS126_FEA_HIV Campus_FINAL_REVISED.indd 18

7/23/18 10:45 AM

VICTOR ESPIDOL (SABILLON)

Sabillon is the first of his family to graduate high school and go to college. Now, his future is at risk.

Last fall, California governor Jerry Brown signed into law legislation reducing the penalty for “exposing” a sexual partner to HIV. It’s no longer a felony, and is instead now legally viewed the same way as other serious communicable diseases.

A couple months after Sabillon and the accuser’s exchange, Sabillon recieved a letter from the university stating he’d been accused of “allegations regarding transmission of HIV.” That’s when Sabillon says he “just fell apart. I didn’t know what was going to happen, really. [Then] a week or two later, they called me for an investigation.”

Sabillon and the accuser had to present their cases in front of the dean. The first time he went in, Sabillon was by himself and was told to present his Grindr profile to school authorities, all of whom he says lacked any education about MSM sexual health. For example, one questioner asked Sabillon what a “top” and “bottom” was.

The accuser continued “saying that I was a menace to the community, that I was putting the community at harm, and, ideally, he didn’t want me to get an easy punishment, like write an essay. He wanted me to really get punished for what I did,” Sabillon

shares. “It was a lot of bullshit that he just threw in there trying to take me down.”

The second time Sabillon appeared in front of school authorities, he brought a doctor in with him who presented facts about HIV transmission to prove there was no risk. “[The accuser’s] defense was like, ‘Well, the science doesn’t say that there’s 100 percent no risk.’ And my defense was pretty much like, ‘Doctors literally cannot say that.

Science cannot say with 100 percent certainty [about] most anything. This is not how science works.’”

School officials are now compiling a final report, which will ultimately determine Sabillon’s fate and future at the school. Regardless, he could risk being faced with an endangerment charge on his school record. (For now, the accuser has not attempted to file criminal charges.)

While Sabillon remains optimistic that school officials will make the right decision, he hopes to use this experience to help educate the state’s lawmakers, but also society at large about the dangers of stigma.

“You shouldn’t be afraid of abating our laws, our social norms, the way we live our lives. We shouldn’t be so afraid of change, and I think that’s

what’s happening in the world today, where the world is changing so rapidly, and us as humans, we don’t like change,” he says.

The added difficulty of being one of few persons of color on campus in a predominantly white institution is not missed on Sabillon, who also fears getting family members deported. His dream of graduating and succeeding to pull his family out of poverty also now feels at risk.

“If [the accuser] even decides to go to press charges, I think that [he] will be eliminating someone from the community—or will be locking them away and ruining their life— someone that could have been very beneficial, someone that could have been a tremendous asset for the community,” he adds. “That’s not making the community safer, that’s hurting the community.”

Sabillon says this isn’t just about HIV-specific laws. “I want people to think about other things [as well]: When you lock people up for minor drug charges. When you lock people up for being undocumented, even though they’ve been here for years and years and they’ve done nothing wrong. That doesn’t keep the community safe, that doesn’t keep anybody safer.”

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

17-19_PLUS126_FEA_HIV Campus_FINAL.indd 19

19

7/19/18 11:53 AM

On Fabian: Suit: Dom Bagnato Bow Tie: Klein Epstein Shirt: His own 24

PHOTO CREDIT

LOOK OF LOVE On Marc: Full look: Dom Bagnato Bow Tie: Klein Epstein

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

24-29_PLUS126_FEA_Cover_FINAL_REVISED.indd 24

7/23/18 8:28 AM

Entertainment reporter MARC MALKIN says his husband’s love and support gave him strength to come out as HIV-positive.

BY SAVAS ABADSIDIS AND BENJAMIN M. ADAMS + PHOTOGRAPHY BY LUKE FONTANA

STYLIST: AISHA RAE ASSISTANT STYLIST: ANGEL CROSS GROOMING: CALVIN SCOTT

hen TV personality and former E! network correspondent Marc Malkin came out as HIV-positive on Instagram, he become the second highprofile TV journalist to do so, after ABC reporter (and recent Plus cover star) Karl Schmid. And it wasn’t an accident.

“Karl is a good friend and was the final inspiration I needed,” Malkin says. It’s one thing to come out as HIV-positive to immediate friends and family, but coming out in the public eye is an entirely different scenario.

What motivated Malkin to disclose his status publicly is intertwined with the story of his husband and love of his life, Fabian Quezada-Malkin.

“I have been thinking about disclosing my status for about a year now,” Malkin tells Plus. It all began when he volunteered with the media team for AIDS/LifeCycle in 2017 and spent the week talking to and interviewing riders, roadies, and local supporters along the route.

Many shared their stories of being HIV-positive or told him about people they knew living with HIV or who had died from AIDS-related complications. “One person I interviewed pulled me aside later one night and told me that he was HIV-positive but he wasn’t out about it,” Malkin recalls. “It broke my heart because I knew exactly how he felt.

We both wanted to be open, but we just weren’t ready.”

Covering HIV in the news wasn’t new for Malkin. Having begun his career in queer media for the now defunct Bay Windows newspaper in Boston, he remembers covering Magic Johnson’s announcement that he was poz. Malkin also went to Washington, D.C., to interview political pundit and writer Andrew Sullivan. “But that was long before I seroconverted,” he says now. “There are so many times I have covered HIV [and] AIDS throughout my career.” Malkin is also known for his work as a columnist at New York Daily News, Us Weekly, and New York magazine. More than once, Malkin was named by The Advocate as one of its annual 50 Most Influential LGBT People in Media list.

One night at AIDS/LifeCycle, during a presentation by Positive Pedalers, a group of HIV-positive cyclists and their supporters, the group asked anyone who was HIV-positive to please stand up. Malkin slowly stood from his chair and watched others do the same. The auditorium erupted with applause. “When I sat down, with tears in my eyes, I began to think seriously about coming out as HIV-positive.”

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

24-29_PLUS126_FEA_Cover_FINAL.indd 25

25

7/19/18 12:25 PM

That was also when Malkin resolved to ride again this year.

When Malkin and his husband came home from the ride last spring, he says, “I was thinking about what I had just accomplished.

I rode a bike for 551 miles, over seven days. Holy shit. I couldn’t believe I did it!”

Not to mention it was hubby QuezadaMalkin’s eighth consecutive AIDS/LifeCycle.

“I was full of pride, excitement, and an overwhelming feeling: Now is the time to let the world know I [am] living with HIV. A few months before the ride, Fabian went public with his positive status on Facebook.

Shortly thereafter, a dear friend of mine, Karl Schmid, did the same on Instagram.”

Malkin recalls, “I began to write. I kept it simple and to the point. I turned to Fabian and said, ‘I think I’m going to come out as HIVpositive today.’ He encouraged me, but also let me know that it was my decision to make and that there was no right or wrong [way].

A friend of ours took this great photo of us during the ride. It’s Fabian pushing me a bit up a hill. It was the perfect photo to post with my message. I posted it on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I immediately felt like I was freer than I had ever been. No more secrets.”

“We had a few conversations about both of us going public with our status,” says QuezadaMalkin. “We talked about how we wanted to show others that we are two strong healthy gay men who happen to have HIV. We also believe you’re only as sick as your secrets. We knew revealing our status would set us free. It also allowed us to commit ourselves to doing more in the fight against HIV [and] AIDS, especially our work with the L.A. LGBT Center.”

“Most importantly,” adds Quezada-Malkin, “we want to be able to help people who are newly diagnosed [understand] that your life isn’t over in any way, and that you can

live a long and healthy life with the proper treatment and support like we have.”

The two disclosed their status to each other immediately after they started dating in 2011.

Quezada-Malkin was the first to bring it up.

He remembers the exact day when he initially learned about HIV. “I was a 12-year-old kid in school back in Guadalajara. Every day after that day, I looked for symptoms. I was worried and stressed.”

HIV was always on his mind while coming to terms with his sexuality living in Mexico. He came to the U.S. when he was 17 and remembers, “I was living in Long Beach and enrolled in a high school continuation program for LGBT students. Then one day, in October 2001, staff from the Long Beach Health Department came to the school offering HIV tests. I agreed to get tested. Not only was I sexually active, but I had never been tested before.”

In 2001, you had to wait two weeks for the results. These were a torturous 14 days for

Full look: Dom Bagnato Bow Tie: Klein Epstein

I’ve heard from some fans of my work say that they’re even bigger fans now that I am living my truth.

MARC MALKIN

26

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

24-29_PLUS126_FEA_Cover_FINAL_REVISED.indd 26

7/23/18 8:28 AM

I’ve had to come out of three closets: as an undocumented immigrant, as a gay man, and as someone living with HIV. FA B I A N Q U E Z A D A - M A L K I N

Suit: Dom Bagnato Bow Tie: Klein Epstein Shirt: His own

Quezada-Malkin, but, “I tried to put it in the back of my mind as much as I could.”

When the results came in, a man and a woman from the health department began taking students one-by-one into a private room to give them their results. QuezadaMalkin “was so nervous, scared, and anxious.

I was the last one to be called and taken to a

different room. I knew right away something didn’t seem right. A few minutes later, the man from the health department walked into the room and sat down.”

After they told Quezada-Malkin he was HIV-positive, he says, “at first, everything went black—but then there was a sense of relief, because I no longer had to worry about not knowing if I was positive. But at the same time, I was only 17 years old. Was I going to die? Was this it for me? What was next?”

Quezada-Malkin was sent to see a doctor at a local health clinic. “And it was there that a doctor told me I had… AIDS.” The teen was put on medication right away. “I called my brother and sisters back in Mexico to tell them what was going on. I couldn’t tell my mother. I didn’t want to worry her.”

Nearly two decades passed before QuezadaMalkin revealed his status to his mother.

Ever the optimist, he told her he believed he had an angel somewhere looking over him, “because if I hadn’t left Mexico almost 17 years ago, I would probably be dead by now.

Mexico didn’t provide the life-saving care that I received in the U.S.” Quezada-Malkin says today he and his mother have never been closer. “We’ve come a long way.”

His advocacy and fund-raising efforts stem from his desire to support the L.A. LGBT Center that “saved my life.” The years following his diagnosis were tough and resulted in Quezada-Malkin becoming homeless. It was then he heard about the center, and he entered their Transitional Living Program, an 18-month facility for 18 to 24-year-olds who are homeless. The program teaches life skills and offers resources to help youth experiencing homeless become autonomous.

“I’ve had to come out of three closets: as an undocumented immigrant, as a gay man, and as someone living with HIV,” he says now. “Every time I have told my truth, I have seen how it could help someone else, even if it’s just a stranger reaching out to me on Facebook thanking me for sharing my story.”

Quezada-Malkin began his career as an assistant stylist more than a decade ago at Joseph Martin Salon, where he is now one of the most sought after colorists in Beverly Hills, Calif. He only recently got his green card—after years of battling with the government—and credits his husband for getting him through it.

“We had no way of knowing how this would turn out with things becoming even more uncertain—and downright scary—after the 2016 election,” he says. “We lived with the fear of deportation every day.”

For Malkin, the decision to come out as HIV-positive in a Trumpian world was to dispel stigma around HIV, and also remind HIVPLUSMAG.COM

24-29_PLUS126_FEA_Cover_FINAL_REVISED.indd 27

27

7/23/18 8:28 AM

people that it’s no longer a death sentence.

“Just look at me: I’m healthy and strong,” he says. “I just rode 551 miles on a bike! I have been living with HIV for almost a decade.

I have been on meds from the day I was diagnosed. I have never been happier and more satisfied with my life. I am living. I will not die from HIV.” The TV journalist admits it was imperative that he made sure his mom knew he was healthy. “She lost her two brothers to AIDS in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, so she has horrible memories of [their] deaths,” Malkin reveals. “‘Don’t worry,’ I told my mom. ‘It’s not the same as when Uncle David and Uncle Arthur died. I am going to be fine. I am healthy and you have nothing to worry about.’”

Malkin’s HIV diagnoses followed a period when he was addicted to crystal meth, which he says has become a new epidemic. “We must, as a community, face the realities of crystal meth in stronger ways. I don’t have the answers, but like being HIV-positive, crystal meth use is often, if not usually, kept a secret.

I kept my use a secret for years. It wasn’t until I confided in some of my closest friends about what was going on that I finally started reaching out for help.”

Last year, Malkin left E! after 11 years. He admits, “I’m just a poor kid from Queens, N.Y. I still pinch myself because I never truly wholeheartedly believe I’d get to do what I do. E! also made me visible in the world in ways I never imagined. It helped me earn the platforms that I have today. After coming out as HIV-positive, I have heard from many people that say they have been fans of my work for many years and that they’re even bigger fans now that I am living my truth. If any of them didn’t know someone with HIV, they do now.”

Malkin describes AIDS/Life Cycle as being like “a week of sleepaway camp for adults, except you’re really tired all the time from riding your bike.” Being one of about 2,300 riders was exhilarating for him. “Pushing myself mentally and physically gave me a high that no drug could ever duplicate.

When you do the ride, you become part of a family of cyclists and roadies who have one thing in mind: We want to, we must, continue supporting those living with HIV. There’s a comradery that I can’t explain. There are times when you are surrounded by dozens, if not hundreds, of other riders. But then there are times you are all alone on a stretch of road, riding by yourself. It’s beautiful.”

“There were times when I thought I would have to give up for a few miles and just hop in a van back to camp, but then I thought of my uncles,” continues Malkin. “I thought of the pain and anguish they endured. I thought of their deaths. My pain of riding was nothing compared to what they experienced. I kept 28

riding. Fabian and I rode in honor of them, in memory of everyone taken from my family too soon.”

The couple encourages everyone to do the ride. “Jump on a bike and start training! I never thought I would do it but watching my husband all these years and then volunteering last year convinced me I was strong enough.”

Malkin says a highlight of the experience happened on the sixth day of the ride. “The last rest stop of the day is a dance party at Rincon Park Campground in Ventura. It’s a beautiful scene of riders getting off their bikes and dancing. Dancing in the sunlight.”

When he first experienced it, he broke down. “I imagined all the men we lost who could have been dancing with us. A few hours later, I signed up to be a rider again this year.”

Malkin says his choice to come out as poz was really about creating visibility for people living with HIV. “While I am a journalist, my decision to go public with my status was a personal choice. In the past when I did think about disclosing, I imagined I would do it in an essay in a magazine or newspaper, but I realized it’s not about that. This was about just standing up and saying, ‘I am HIV-positive.’

Yes, I may have platforms through my work, but the reason behind me coming out as positive is quite simple—visibility matters.”

Together, the two men herald the ushering in of a new level of activism and visibility around both undocumented citizens and people living with HIV. It’s thrilling to ponder the possibilities this power couple can accomplish, and incredibly inspiring considering where both men were not so long ago.

“There are a lot of things I couldn’t dream of happening after that day I learned my status,” says Quezada-Malkin. “One was finding the love of my life. If we are a power couple, it comes from the love we have for each other.

Coming out together as HIV-positive has only strengthened our relationship. It also follows our belief that visibility matters. There’s no other person I’d rather knock down walls with than Marc.”

...you can live a long and healthy life with the proper treatment and support like we have.

FA B I A N Q U E Z A D A - M A L K I N

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

24-29_PLUS126_FEA_Cover_FINAL.indd 28

7/19/18 12:25 PM

On Both Men Jacket & Pants: All Saints Marc’s Short-Sleeve Button-Up: Raga Man Fabian’s Short-Sleeve Button-Up: Theory

24-29_PLUS126_FEA_Cover_FINAL.indd 29

7/19/18 12:25 PM

YOU MATTER AND SO DOES YOUR HEALTH That’s why starting and staying on HIV-1 treatment is so important.

WHAT IS DESCOVYÂŽ?

DESCOVY is a prescription medicine that is used together with other HIV-1 medicines to treat HIV-1 in people who weigh at least 77 lbs (35kg). DESCOVY is not for use to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. DESCOVY combines 2 medicines into 1 pill taken once a day. Because DESCOVY by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1, it must be used together with other HIV-1 medicines.

DESCOVY does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses, you must keep taking DESCOVY. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance QH UGZWCN EQPVCEV YKVJ DQF[ ĆƒWKFU 0GXGT TGWUG QT UJCTG PGGFNGU QT QVJGT KVGOU VJCV JCXG DQF[ ĆƒWKFU QP VJGO

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about DESCOVY? DESCOVY may cause serious side effects: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. DESCOVY is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV and stop taking DESCOVY, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking DESCOVY YKVJQWV ƂTUV VCNMKPI VQ [QWT JGCNVJECTG RTQXKFGT CU they will need to monitor your health.

What are the other possible side effects of DESCOVY? Serious side effects of DESCOVY may also include: • Changes in your immune system. Your immune U[UVGO OC[ IGV UVTQPIGT CPF DGIKP VQ ƂIJV KPHGEVKQPU Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking DESCOVY. • Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. Your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking DESCOVY if you develop new or worse kidney problems. • Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that

can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. • Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-coloredâ€? urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

The most common side effect of DESCOVY is nausea.

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or don’t go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking DESCOVY? • All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection. • All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Other medicines may affect how DESCOVY works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

Ask your healthcare provider if it is safe to take DESCOVY with all of your other medicines. • If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

It is not known if DESCOVY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking DESCOVY. • If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about DESCOVY, including important warnings, on the following page.

Ask your healthcare provider if an HIV-1 treatment that contains DESCOVYÂŽ is right for you.

DVYC0085_A_7-875x10-5_Plus_Jardon_r2v1jl.indd Custom V 2 18534 Descovy_Jordan.indd 2

1/3/18 9:20 PM

12/18/17 10:46 AM 18534 Descovy_Jordan.indd 3

1/3/18 9:20 PM

IMPORTANT FACTS ;OPZ PZ VUS` H IYPLM Z\TTHY` VM PTWVY[HU[ PUMVYTH[PVU HIV\[ DESCOVY HUK KVLZ UV[ YLWSHJL [HSRPUN [V `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY HIV\[ `V\Y JVUKP[PVU HUK `V\Y [YLH[TLU[ ÂŽ

KLZ 26/ ]LL MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DESCOVY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF DESCOVY

+,:*6=@ TH` JH\ZL ZLYPV\Z ZPKL L LJ[Z PUJS\KPUN! â‚” >VYZLUPUN VM OLWH[P[PZ ) /)= PUMLJ[PVU DESCOVY is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking DESCOVY. Do not stop taking DESCOVY without Ă„YZ[ [HSRPUN [V `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY HZ [OL` ^PSS ULLK to check your health regularly for several months.

+,:*6=@ JHU JH\ZL ZLYPV\Z ZPKL L LJ[Z PUJS\KPUN! ₔ ;OVZL PU [OL ¸4VZ[ 0TWVY[HU[ 0UMVYTH[PVU (IV\[ DESCOVY� section. ₔ *OHUNLZ PU `V\Y PTT\UL Z`Z[LT ₔ 5L^ VY ^VYZL RPKUL` WYVISLTZ PUJS\KPUN RPKUL` MHPS\YL ₔ ;VV T\JO SHJ[PJ HJPK PU `V\Y ISVVK SHJ[PJ HJPKVZPZ which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. ₔ :L]LYL SP]LY WYVISLTZ ^OPJO PU YHYL JHZLZ JHU SLHK [V death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns `LSSV^ KHYR ¸[LH JVSVYLKš \YPUL SPNO[ JVSVYLK Z[VVSZ loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain. ;OL TVZ[ JVTTVU ZPKL L LJ[ VM +,:*6=@ is nausea. ;OLZL HYL UV[ HSS [OL WVZZPISL ZPKL L LJ[Z VM +,:*6=@ Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking DESCOVY. @V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY ^PSS ULLK [V KV [LZ[Z [V TVUP[VY `V\Y OLHS[O ILMVYL HUK K\YPUN [YLH[TLU[ ^P[O +,:*6=@

ABOUT DESCOVY â‚” +,:*6=@ PZ H WYLZJYPW[PVU TLKPJPUL [OH[ PZ \ZLK together with other HIV-1 medicines to treat HIV-1 in people who weigh at least 77 lbs (35kg). DESCOVY is UV[ for use to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. â‚” +,:*6=@ KVLZ UV[ J\YL /0= VY (0+:. Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others.

),-69, ;(205. +,:*6=@ ;LSS `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY PM `V\! â‚” Have or had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection. â‚” Have any other medical condition. â‚” Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. â‚” Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed.

Do not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. ;LSS `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY HIV\[ HSS [OL TLKPJPULZ `V\ [HRL! â‚” Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. â‚” Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with DESCOVY.

.,; 469, 05-694(;065 â‚” This is only a brief summary of important information about DESCOVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more. â‚” Go to DESCOVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 â‚” If you need help paying for your medicine, visit DESCOVY.com for program information.

/6> ;6 ;(2, +,:*6=@ â‚” DESCOVY is a one pill, once a day HIV-1 medicine that is taken with other HIV-1 medicines. â‚” Take DESCOVY with or without food.

DESCOVY, the DESCOVY Logo, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Version date: September 2017 Š 2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. DVYC0085 11/17

DVYC0085_A_7-875x10-5_Plus_Jardon_r2v1jl.indd 4 18535 Descovy_Jordan_PI.indd 1

12/18/17 10:46 AM 1/3/18 9:21 PM

D A I LY D O S E

B Y T Y L E R C U R R Y- M C G R AT H

BUH-BYE, BRENDA

SHUTTERSTOCK (RUNNING MAN); COURTESY TYLER CURRY-MCGRATH (CURRY-MCGRATH)

WE ALL HAVE THAT VOICE IN OUR HEAD TELLING US WE’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH—I SAY, TELL THEM TO F*** OFF BEFORE I BEGIN explaining how HIV is not a character flaw, I must say that I have yet to master the art of silencing my inner bully. Sure, I don’t have any issues with my status anymore, but we all have that inner voice trying to tear us down. In my own personal journey, I am not so sure I will ever be able to silence mine. She is, after all, one relentless bitch.

Still, I have found a way to separate her voice from the noise: First, name it. Then kindly tell her to shut the fuck up. RuPaul calls that little voice his “inner-saboteur,” but I just call her Brenda.

You may know her by a different name, but she’s the one who whispers in your ear every time you get turned down or rejected. She pokes and prods at your deepest insecurities—be it your weight, age, abilities, or your HIV status. Most likely, no one else in your life has ever been as mean to you as Brenda is, and she’s the one that lives between your ears.

Recently, a young and handsome man reached out to me because his inner voice was getting the best of him and his HIV-positive status. He said he didn’t feel like there was a place in the world for him, and that

he felt like he would never be loved if he couldn’t love himself first.

Of course I knew none of these things were true, but I also knew that me telling this young man he is worthy of love just the way he is would do little to quell his inner voice the next time she has something to say.

While I had already stopped believing Brenda when she would tell me the same thing a long time ago, I still related to this man. I’ve struggled with body image issues for years. I have moments when I tell myself I am disgusting and make myself believe no one would ever want to touch me again. I even have fleeting moments where I get the urge to take knives to parts of my body that repulse me.

It is not something I would ever do, but it is a testament to how loud and powerful Brenda can be.

I realize I shouldn’t have body issues now, but this is Tyler CurryMcGrath speaking. When I am the voice in my own head, I am thankful for my healthy body. Brenda starts to chime in when my insecurities get the best of me. This is why I gave her a name. Even though she is still around, today I have the ability to address her, thank her for her opinions, and then send her packing.

It might seem like a silly tactic to take, but we need every tool in the toolbox when it comes to defeating our inner voices that try to reduce our worth at all costs. If you give that voice a name, then you have the power to address them when they start magnifying your insecurities.

You have the ability to separate their voice from your own and recognize the difference. It might not absolve you from your insecurities—in fact, it almost certainly won’t—but it will give you a way to practice silencing your inner bully when it seems like it’s too much to take.

The young man that feels unworthy is perfectly loveable just the way he is. My body is beautiful just the way it is. You are worthy of love just the way you are. Then again, we already know that. Just make sure you tell whoever your Brenda is, because she has it coming.

Editor at large Tyler Curry-McGrath is also a contributing editor at The Advocate magazine and the author of A Peacock Among Pigeons. He also helps to foster and rehabilitate dogs. (@IamTylerCurry)

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

33_PLUS126_Daily_Dose_FINAL.indd 33

33

7/19/18 12:33 PM

H E A LT H

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IMPROVES HEALTH OF GAY AND BI MEN NEW FINDINGS FROM VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY OFFER A GOOD REASON TO TIE THE KNOT AND FIGHT TO PROTECT MARRIAGE EQUALITY. 34

MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS good for

the health of queer men, says a new study from Vanderbilt University, which found that same-sex marriage sparked “significant increases” in gay and bi men’s access to care and health insurance coverage. The study, published as a working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research, drew from data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System between 2000 and 2016.

Analyzing the results of this telephone survey, researchers found that Obergefell v. Hodges—the landmark Supreme Court decision that brought marriage equality to the United States—as well as the preceding state legalizations of same-sex marriage, coincided with improved health for gay men in same-sex households.

Specifically, the data showed that a man in a same-sex household is 4.2 percent more likely to have health insurance and 7.3 percent more likely to have received an annual checkup.

There were no significant health changes for women in same-sex households. But researchers say this may be due to the limitations of the

data. For example, women in samesex households are more likely to have children and thus may have crossed state lines to secure a marriage license, a move not tracked by the survey.

The study noted why these changes are significant. Men and women in same-sex households are “significantly less likely to report excellent or very good health, more likely to report fair or poor health, and more likely to report 14 or more bad health days than men and women in different sex households.”

Those in same-sex households are also more likely to engage in substance abuse like drinking and smoking, and less likely to receive preventative care like flu shots and mammograms. The study did not find changes in rates of substance abuse or preventative care, possibly because more time is required to track new developments.

“Recent efforts to dismantle legal access to same-sex marriage may negatively affect family and health outcomes, particularly among men in same-sex households,” the paper concluded. When it comes to attacks on marriage equality, lives are also at stake.

SHUTTERSTOCK

BY DANIEL REYNOLDS

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

34_PLUS126_Health_FINAL.indd 34

7/19/18 12:38 PM

R E S I S TA N C E B Y D AV I D A R TAV I A

LEFT Tree and his partner, Carlton, pictured with three of his four children. RIGHT Tree Alexander

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS THIS POZ DAD WENT FROM HOMELESS TO HOMEROOM, REBUILDING LIFE ALONG THE WAY. he comes face to face with gratitude every morning when his soap shop Zambo Aroma (ZamboLLC.com) opens for business. The 31-year-old activist and entrepreneur founded the Bronx, New York-based store not only to provide skincare products, but as a place to offer self-care, self-nurture, and self-respect for others. All this coming from a guy who was once experiencing homelessness on the subway platforms of New York City.

Growing up on the south side of Chicago, Alexander says his education about HIV was minimal.

“It was like a TV thing, not in real life,” he says. But after he came out as sexually fluid to his family and moved in with a boyfriend at 17, HIV became very real. A year later, his

COURTESY TREE ALEXANDER (BOTH)

TREE ALEXANDER SAYS

boyfriend became ill, but resisted seeing a doctor.

“He kept pushing it off until one day he couldn’t get up to move,” Alexander remembers. “I called the ambulance and they came out and connected him to every machine imaginable. They said if I hadn’t called 911, he wouldn’t have made it through the night.”

The next morning, a doctor told them his boyfriend had stage three HIV (or AIDS) with only four T cells left in his body. That’s when Alexander’s boyfriend turned to him and said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“I went across the street and got tested at the clinic,” Alexander says.

This was before rapid testing was available, so he had to wait two weeks for results, which eventually came back positive. At first, he didn’t tell his family.

“I didn’t want to be the first to come out sexually fluid with my family and then be the first one to be openly diagnosed with HIV in my family,” he recalls. “I think that was just too much for them to handle, especially since everyone wanted to look at me all sad and, you know, give me hugs and cry around me... I can’t do that emotionally. So literally, [I] just ran away and moved to New York and became homeless.”

His boyfriend was already showing visible improvement from the meds he was given at the hospital. But Alexander was refused treatment.

At the time, only those whose T cells were under 500 were given medicine.

He didn’t qualify.

“So I found a research study in New York that was able to start [me] on early intervention medication, which prompted me to move,” he says. He had started his soap business, but gave it up and used that money to move to N.Y.C. When he landed in the Big Apple, he had a mission but no money.

“I slept on the trains and the parks for about three months, before I was able to get into a youth shelter” he recalls. The shelter ended up being a nunnery in the West Village.

“I lived with the nuns, so it was a very strict schedule and I stayed there with them for two months while volunteering at Housing Works.”

Alexander ended up with a job as a care coordinator at Housing Works, a non-profit that fights HIV and homelessness. He later joined the Brooklyn AIDS Task Force (now called Bridging Access to Care) as a coordinator and social change activist.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 54

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

35_PLUS126_Resistance_FINAL.indd 35

35

7/19/18 12:47 PM

CHILL

BY D O N A L D PA D G E T T A N D D I A N E A N D E R S O N - M I N S H A L L

THE

SECRET TO HOT SEX?

A N D A C T O R Milan Christopher has teamed up with the Los Angeles LGBT Center to spread the message that gay men of color deserve to have great (and safer) sex.

“In communities of color, there is so much stigma around sex, being gay, and HIV that people are scared to even talk about PrEP—and many more don’t even know about it,” says Christopher, who is an out gay man utilizing PrEP himself.

RAPPER

36

African-American and Latino men who have sex with men have elevated risks of becoming HIV-positive, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. APLA Health recently reported that gay and bisexual youth of color, and transgender women, are less likely to know about or have access to PrEP. Clearly, there is a need for greater outreach and better messaging to reach the most vulnerable communities.

CHRIS STEWART

RAPPER AND ACTOR MILAN CHRISTOPHER’S CAMPAIGN FOR GAY AND BI MEN OF COLOR SAYS SAFER SEX IS BETTER SEX

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

36-37_PLUS126_Chill_FINAL_REVISED.indd 36

7/23/18 8:31 AM

THE BEST WAY TO FIGHT THE STIGMA AROUND SEX AND HIV IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IS TO TALK ABOUT IT...

“Communities of color continue to be the hardest hit by new HIV [diagnoses], making the awareness and accessibility of PrEP an ever more urgent priority,” says Darrel Cumming, chief of staff at the L.A. LGBT Center.

Building on the success of last year’s Fuck Without Fear HIV prevention campaign, the Center teamed with the Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood star to launch its new PrEP’d AF outreach campaign. The main goal of the project (PrepHere.org) is to raise awareness that PrEP makes it nearly impossible for HIVnegative people to contract the virus, while encouraging them to have responsible, active, and fun sex lives.

Christopher talks with Plus about HIV and getting everyone PrEP’d AF. WHY IS THIS CAMPAIGN IMPORTANT TO YOU? It’s something I’m very passionate about. Too many people are still [contracting] HIV so I want to help in any way that I can. In the black community, many people associate HIV with being gay, which still carries a major negative stigma. Because of that, people who should be taking PrEP aren’t, because they are scared to even talk about HIV. I’m never scared to speak out for something I believe in and that’s why I’m spreading the word about PrEP. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO GO ON PREP YOURSELF? I’ve had friends die of [AIDS complications] and I’ve had scares where I thought I was exposed to HIV. This was happening before PrEP was available. When my doctor told me about a clinical trial for PrEP several years ago, I knew I wanted to try it to protect myself. I’ve been taking it ever since. I get my PrEP from the L.A. LGBT

Center. The Center offers consultations, testing, and can help people get on PrEP. They can also help people get it at low or no cost.

JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, GUYS WERE STILL AFRAID TO TELL FOLKS THEY WERE ON PREP FOR FEAR OF SLUT-SHAMING. DID YOU DEAL WITH THAT? No. I really wasn’t afraid to say I was on PrEP because PrEP for me was always another layer of protection. I still use condoms when I have sex, but condoms break and accidents happen. But when they I do, PrEP is still there to protect me from HIV. THERE’S STILL A LOT OF STIGMA AROUND BOTH SEX AND HIV. HOW CAN WE CHANGE THAT? The best way to fight the stigma around sex and HIV in communities of color is to talk about it, which is why I’m partnering with the L.A. LGBT Center on the PrEP’d AF campaign. Communities of color are most at-risk for [contracting] HIV. Right now, one in two black men who have sex with men will get HIV in their lifetime [if rates continue as they are]. That is unacceptable. If we don’t normalize conversations about sex and preventing HIV with tools we already have—like PrEP and condoms—it’s only going to get worse.

I truly believe that the work I’m doing to educate people about PrEP is saving lives and that’s why I’m so passionate about it.

In order for PrEP to change things, we need to get it to all men who have sex with men.

YOU’VE CLAIMED A LOT OF RAPPERS ARE SECRETLY BI. DO YOU THINK THIS CAMPAIGN CAN REACH THEM? I want to reach as many people as possible with the PrEP’d AF campaign to help prevent HIV and save lives. The more attention the campaign gets, the more people it reaches and, hopefully, it reaches men who have sex with men who don’t identify as gay or bi. A lot of influential people in the music industry follow me on social media, so I’m posting a lot about the campaign and sending people who are interested to PrepHere.org to learn more.

YOU YOURSELF ARE SEXY AF. DID YOU WORRY THIS CAMPAIGN WOULD IMPACT YOUR BRAND? I’ve worked closely with the L.A. LGBT Center over the years, so when they approached me to partner on PrEP’d AF and help raise awareness for PrEP, I didn’t even hesitate because it’s very important to me. To me, being PrEP’d AF means you’re protected. You’re as protected as you can possibly be against HIV and you’ve taken charge of your health and your sex life. I want everyone who thinks PrEP might be right for them to feel empowered and motivated to protect themselves.

To me, being PrEP’d AF is sexy AF. HIVPLUSMAG.COM

36-37_PLUS126_Chill_FINAL.indd 37

37

7/19/18 12:48 PM

TREATMENT

A N E W ST U DY on HIV-positive mice proves

the virus causes cognitive difficulties, which can be prevented (but not reversed) by antiretroviral treatment. About half of people living with HIV now suffer from memory dysfunction, but according to research, extremely early intervention with ARTs could prevent such neurological impacts.

HIV-associated dementia, delirium, and memory loss are a consequence of HIV’s effect on the central nervous system. HIV can replicate and develop reservoirs in the brain. One of the problems of controlling HIV in the brain is finding ways to cross the blood-brain barrier—getting medication into your bloodstream will not get it into the brain due to this barrier.

The study, published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, was led by David J. Volsky and Mary Jane Potash, both from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. It’s the first time scientists were able to reproduce in mice the viral reservoirs and cognitive declines seen in people living with HIV. Investigators traced cognitive problems to active HIV in large white blood cells, which could be the reason it begins in the first place.

Mount Sinai researchers developed EcoHIV, a genetically engineered rodent version of HIV that reproduces many aspects of human contraction, so that scientists could study HIV in an animal model that closely replicates what people experience.

The mice in the study demonstrated an ability to learn (they were trained to recognize and then remember visual symbols). Within a month of becoming HIV-positive, the mice failed tests around learning and memory, and those memory problems were not reversed when the mice began antiretroviral treatment.

Researchers found that cognitive declines appeared to be preventable with the antiretroviral drug prophylaxis.

“These findings indicate that EcoHIV infection causes impairment in the cognitive abilities tested,

38

Half of those with HIV may face cognitive issues, but there’s new hope. namely, visuospatial and working memory, and contextual fear memory,” the PLOS Pathogens article noted. “Because ART prophylaxis prevented cognitive impairments in EcoHIVinfected mice, our results also link EcoHIV replication in mice to development of cognitive disease.”

The study demonstrates that HIV causes the learning and memory dysfunction that “is now observed in about half of HIV [positive] people, that worsens with age, and is currently incurable,” noted Mount Sinai Health System in a statement to the press. This is important because some earlier research suggested these cognitive issues were side effects of certain antiretroviral medications.

The research also suggests that large white blood cells (known as macrophages) may play a key role in impairing learning and memory among people with HIV. These cells are part of the body’s immune system that can destroy potential pathogens.

The role of T cells in HIV infection is well known, but in this study, the scientists had mice engineered not to have T cells—yet, when they were exposed to EcoHIV, the mice still became HIV-positive and experienced similar cognitive problems, suggesting that infected macrophages were responsible for the impairment.

According to Science Daily, “These findings add to growing evidence that macrophages harboring active HIV may transport HIV to the brain, leading to cognitive problems in [poz] people.”

Noting that “cognitive impairment is a common problem in a wide variety of human conditions, including diabetes, aging, and Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Volsky stated, “studies in the EcoHIV model of cognitive impairment may have broad implications for better understanding and treatment of these conditions in other disease states.”

The findings could be used to develop and test new drugs against the virus, such as those zeroing in on HIV reservoirs; and those directed specifically at preventing or res toring healthy brain function damaged by HIV, while patients simultaneously continue on antiretroviral therapy. —BENJAMIN M. ADAMS

SHUTTERSTOCK

OF MICE AND MEN

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

38-44_PLUS126_Treatment_FINAL.indd 38

7/19/18 1:10 PM

TWO OUT OF THREE AIN’T BAD A two-drug regimen for those just starting treatment has moved closer to FDA approval.

SHUTTERSTOCK

A

new HIV regimen option could replace existing three-drug regimens with a two-drug one, for those just beginning treatment. The yet-unnamed drug would join Juluca as another two-drug regimen capable of replacing three-drug versions. Juluca was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for adults already on treatment and virally suppressed.

Although a three-drug regimen was once considered essential in order to prevent the development of resistance, new two-drug regimens are proving to be just as effective without some of the side effects of the previous multidrug options. HIV treatment is already moving to single-tablet regimens, breaking the tedium of endlessly taking a handful of pills. But even in a single pill, stomaching three or more drugs daily can come with unwanted side effects and inevitably puts a toll on the body over long periods of time.

“People with HIV are living longer and more productive lives,” Dr. John C. Pottage, Jr., the chief scientific and medical officer of ViiV Healthcare, said in a press statement.

“However, under current standard of care, many patients still take three or more medicines every day.”

Toxicity in antiretroviral drugs is an important factor to consider, especially as poz people age. Organizations like the World Health Organization monitor drug therapies and the toxicity associated with them. Reducing the amount of medications that people living with HIV are consigned to take improves adherence and long-term health outcomes, while reducing potential toxicities.

These are reasons why pharma companies are looking for two-drug combinations that can do the work previously done by three.

ViiV Healthcare reported that in Phase 3 studies, the dolutegravir and lamivudine combination demonstrated

the ability to control HIV in people who hadn’t previously taken antiretroviral medications. The two supportive studies, dubbed GEMINI-1 and GEMINI-2, were designed to assess the safety profile and efficacy of dolutegravir (an integrase inhibitor) and lamivudine (a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor) compared to a three-drug regimen of dolutegravir combined with two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine.

The studies were conducted at research centers throughout Europe, Central and South America, North America, South Africa, and Asia Pacific; and involved 1,400 men and women living with HIV. While details are still forthcoming (more will be revealed at an upcoming conference), researchers showed that the two-drug regimen was effective, with participants reaching viral suppression (with viral loads less than 50 copies per milliliter) by week 48.

None of the participants (even those whose viral loads weren’t controlled) developed treatment-emergent resistance, or drug resistance that develops after a person begins taking medication. Drug resistance is always a concern when it comes to antiretrovirals, because of HIV’s ability to mutate frequently and adapt to the drugs meant to combat it.

“The GEMINI studies demonstrate the potency, safety, and tolerability of the dolutegravir plus lamivudine combination,” Pottage said. “They affirm our two-drug regimen strategy and reinforce our belief that many patients can control their disease with two drugs instead of three or more. Importantly, the studies show that this two-drug regimen could be an option for treatment naive patients and can support a broad range of patients living with HIV around the world.”

ViiV Healthcare is planning to submit the two-drug regimen of dolutegravir and lamivudine to the FDA for approval later this year.—BMA HIVPLUSMAG.COM

38-44_PLUS126_Treatment_FINAL.indd 39

39

7/19/18 1:10 PM

TAKE P r EP TO N"F@ J @J NI PREVENT HIV JK@P@!N CDP PrEP is a safe, daily pill that reduces HIV infection.

PrEPinterfere will not your risk of HIV. PrEP will not interfere your hormone therapy. with yourwith hormonal birth control.

Use Use condoms to protect against condoms to protect against otherother sexually transmitted infections.

PrEP-Plus-2_rip.indd 1

PrEP is available regardless of your ability to pay. Talk to your doctor or visit nyc.gov/health and search “PrEP.”

8/4/18 12:34 PM

CHEAPER THRILLS (SAME PILLS)

SHUTTERSTOCK

The FDA just approved a generic Truvada, but it may not be available soon.

The cost of HIV treatment and PrEP may be going down. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a generic version of Truvada, the only drug approved so far to use as pre-exposure prophylaxis, a prevention method known as PrEP, which when taken daily prevents HIV contraction. Truvada, also used in HIV treatment in combo with other medications, is a mix of emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.

The FDA approved a generic version made by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries of North Wales, Pa. Brandname Truvada is a product of Gilead Sciences of Foster City, Calif.

Generic drugs are generally far cheaper than brandname ones. The cost of the single-tablet Truvada is about $1,500 a month, or $18,000 a year, Medscape reports, with insurers and patient assistance programs covering much of the cost. The price of the generic hasn’t been announced, but Mitchell Warren, executive director of HIV prevention organization AVAC, told Medscape that a generic drug will likely reduce the cost of PrEP by 80 percent. Generic versions of Truvada sold overseas have a price tag as low as $70 a year, he told the site.

However, just when the generic will become available isn’t yet certain. Teva did not immediately respond to a request for information, and Gilead issued a statement to Poz asserting that the generic won’t be on the market for

a while because Gilead still holds patents on Truvada’s components. Still, FDA official Jeffrey Murray told Poz the generic drug “will now be available in the U.S.” Tim Horn of Treatment Action Group told Poz, “Approval of a generic product doesn’t necessarily mean that product launch is imminent… It’s not uncommon in patent settlement agreements for generics to negotiate language permitting full approvals months and years in advance of the settlement license date. Regardless, now is the time to start thinking seriously about the advantages as well as the drawbacks of generic products to prevent and treat HIV.” In any case, the approval is welcome news, Warren told Medscape. “This is an exciting day. We’ve seen momentum for PrEP programs and policies. Having a lower-cost alternative will only increase that momentum.” He said he expects other companies to launch generic versions of Truvada as well.

Activists expressed hope that Teva will offer patient assistance programs for the generic, as Gilead does with Truvada. “Gilead’s patient and co-pay assistance programs have become central pillars in patient access,” veteran activist Peter Staley told Poz. “They must maintain these programs, and Teva must establish equivalent or better assistance programs for their generic version.” —TRUDY RING HIVPLUSMAG.COM

38-44_PLUS126_Treatment_FINAL.indd 43

43

7/19/18 1:10 PM

TREATMENT

BONUS ROUND A study published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes earlier this year found that a drug typically prescribed to treat alcohol use disorder can help suppress HIV. Naltrexone (not to be confused with naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug) is a medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat alcohol use disorder or opioid abuse. It can also prevent a relapse into alcohol or drug addiction.

A team of researchers, led

by Dr. Sandra Springer of Yale School of Medicine’s infectious diseases section, monitored the viral loads of 44

100 recently-paroled HIVpositive people who were also recovering alcoholics. For six months, study participants were either given extendedrelease naltrexone or a placebo, and the researchers followed participant’s efforts to transition back into society post-incarceration—a stressful time when recovering addicts are at high risk of relapsing.

The subjects that took the opiate antagonist, naltrexone, were more likely to level out their viral loads with improved viral suppression.

People living with HIV are reportedly more likely to abuse alcohol and doing

so worsens the health outcomes for poz folks as well as those with hepatitis C, a common comorbidity.

Opioids, commonly prescribed for pain relief, may also be disproportionately prescribed to people with HIV. We know that those who use injection drugs are more at-risk to become HIV-positive.

Regardless of the substance used, addiction can wreak havoc on people’s long-term physical and mental health.

The fact that naltrexone could simultaneously prevent relapse and help boost viral suppression makes it all that more intriguing. —BMA

SHUTTERSTOCK

Study suggests a medication that fights addiction could also improve viral suppression of HIV.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

38-44_PLUS126_Treatment_FINAL.indd 44

7/19/18 1:10 PM

ART

PATRICIA STEUR/STEDELIJK MUSEUM AMSTERDAM (HARING WORKING ON MURAL); HANNAH ACHULA/STEDELIJK MUSEUM AMSTERDAM (BUILDING WITH MURAL); VIDEO SCREENSHOT (IN STUDIO)

B

efore he died of AIDS complications in 1990, 31-year-old street artist Keith Haring became an international art superstar, and his vibrant work continues to influence people around the world. Now, two of his largest artworks in Europe are visible for the first time in over 30 years.

The largest surviving Haring mural in Europe is a simple, powerful image created as part of an exhibition of his work at the Stedelijk Museum in 1986.

Hidden behind aluminum plates for decades, it was painted on a former museum storage building. Recently, famed graffiti artist Aileen Middel (aka Mick la Rock) spearheaded a campaign to save it from demolition.

“If you have a Keith Haring mural, you have something so unique—there are not so many in this world left.” Middel says.

Had it been destroyed, “I would never forgive myself not to have fought for it.”

This June, the mural finally saw the light of day but its fate is still uncertain—and saving it may require moving the entire wall.

Meanwhile, this October, another huge Haring mural that was in storage for 30 years will once again be on display—a painted canopy designed to filter daylight into the grand hallway of the Stedelijk Museum.

The piece was also created in 1986, while the museum was running a solo exhibition of Haring’s work. According to a museum spokesperson, at the time, Haring spread a 40-footby-66-foot canvas on a gallery floor and spray-painted the intricate design in a single day, while hip-hop played in the background and news media watched from the sidelines.

Because the canopy had been in the museum’s storage for three decades, it took a four-month effort to restore the artwork to its original brilliance so it could be revealed to the public.

B Y S AVA S A B A D S I D I S Art darling of the ‘80s, Keith Haring was also an out and proud gay man and poz pioneer. Top: The recently rediscovered mural in Amsterdam, his largest surviving work in Europe. Bottom (from left): Haring working on the mural in 1986 and on another recently rediscovered, large-scale piece, created in the Stedelijk Museum the same year.

REDISCOVERING

KEITH HARING

Poz artist’s huge murals on display for the first time in three decades.

Additional research by Jacob Anderson-Minshall

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

45_PLUS126_Art_FINAL_REVISED.indd 45

45

7/23/18 8:30 AM

KEITH HARING, MIAMI, AND THE ART OF FASHION BY

DIANE ANDERSON-MINSHALL

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAM DAHMAN MODEL: ABA MFRASE-EWUR MAKEUP AND HAIR: ANTHONY TULVE CLOTHES AND STYLING: MORPHEW

46-52_PLUS126_FEA_AquaArts_FINAL.indd 46

7/19/18 1:21 PM

Before you head to Miami’s annual art show, check out the tribute Morphew created to honor the legendary HIVpositive artist.

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

46-52_PLUS126_FEA_AquaArts_FINAL.indd 47

47

7/19/18 1:21 PM

E

very year, over 4,000 artists and tens of thousands of art lovers, curators, critics, and gallerists from around the globe converge on Miami for Art Basel (ArtBasel.com) and Aqua Art Miami (AquaArtMiami.com).

Happening again December 5-9, Aqua Art Miami is a more intimate fair, lately becoming a top destination for collectors and aficionados to procure works by young, emerging, and mid-career artists. And it’s always popular with LGBT travelers, thanks to its location at the classic South Beach hotel, Aqua (AquaMiami.com). Even better: Its history of supporting poz artists.

Last year, Morphew, an inspirational lifestyle brand that sources the greatest pieces of fashion’s past from around the globe, did an exhibit that appealed not just to art and fashion fans but also those living with HIV. At Aqua Art Miami, Morphew’s collaboration offered up some of history’s

48

most avant-garde fashion items including Jean Charles de Castelbajac’s Teddy Bear jacket, Gianni Versace’s Warhol, Marilyn, and James Dean dress, and a Keith Haring x Stephen Sprouse denim suit—all at a “shoppable” installation dedicated to and inspired by Keith Haring and his Pop Shop.

Fashion and art always have been collaborators, so in the exhibit, “Which Comes First, the Art or the Fashion?”

Morphew (also the parent company of fashion consulting business Paradox) showcased the ways in which these two worlds coexist. The space was themed around the installation dedicated to Haring and featured a philanthropic collaboration with Kara Ross and UNLEASHED—a global social impact brand that provides women the opportunity to break the poverty cycle through education and job creation.

Three original works created by women from Bareilly, India, who are experts in the art of hand beading were incorporated into Morphew’s luxury fashion designs and were available for purchase, with proceeds donated back to the women through UNLEASHED (Unleashed-World.com).

Curators of the installation (ShopMorphew.com) created a series of bold and striking images to accompany the project taken at Haring’s partner store in New York, which the editors of Plus loved so much we wanted to share here.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

46-52_PLUS126_FEA_AquaArts_FINAL_REVISED.indd 48

7/23/18 8:33 AM

HOW DO WE HELP STOP HIV? A. PREVENT IT. B. TEST FOR IT. C. TREAT IT. D. ALL OF THE ABOVE. Learn how it all works together at HelpStopTheVirus.com © 2015 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. UNBC1856 03/15

18642 gilead bonus plus red.indd 1

5/1/18 12:12 PM

PHOTO CREDIT

46-52_PLUS126_FEA_AquaArts_FINAL.indd 50

7/19/18 1:21 PM

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

46-52_PLUS126_FEA_AquaArts_FINAL.indd 51

51

7/19/18 1:21 PM

PHOTO CREDIT

52

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

46-52_PLUS126_FEA_AquaArts_FINAL.indd 52

7/19/18 1:21 PM

PREVENTION

BY BENJAMIN M. ADAMS

WHEN WILL HIV BE STOPPED WITH A SHOT?

SHUTTERSTOCK

PROMISING NEW RESEARCH THRUSTS HIV VACCINES INTO THE SPOTLIGHT

identified decades ago, only five potential vaccines have been approved to test on humans.

Thankfully, the summer of 2018 was brimming with news of promising advancements for contenders into human clinical trials in the race for a vaccine. Here are a few: According to findings published in the journal Natural Medicine, one new experimental vaccine regimen is tailor-made to fit the structure of a vulnerable region of HIV. The results generated antibodies in mice, guinea pigs, and monkeys, while neutralizing dozens of HIV strains. The findings might lead to human clinical trials for a vaccine capable of neutralizing a large fraction of common HIV strains.

Led by investigators from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which falls under the National Institutes of Health, a preliminary human trial of the team’s new vaccine regimen is anticipated to begin in the second half of 2019.

The study was spearheaded by Peter D. Kwong, Ph.D., chief of the Structural Biology Section at the NIAID Vaccine Research Center, and John R. Mascola, M.D., the center’s director.

SINCE HIV WAS FIRST

“NIH scientists have used their detailed knowledge of the structure of HIV to find an unusual site of vulnerability on the virus and design a novel and potentially powerful vaccine,” stated NIAID director Dr. Anthony S. Fauci. “This elegant study is a potentially important step forward in the ongoing quest to develop a safe and effective HIV vaccine.”

The vaccine is epitope-based. An epitope is the specific site on an antigen where an antibody binds. It is based on the site of a broad number of HIV strains that antibodies can bind to. This epitope was just identified two years ago.

Investigators engineered many immunogens, or proteins, designed to activate an immune response to create the vaccine, using the known structure of the fusion peptide. The winning immunogen consisted of eight amino acids of the fusion peptide bonded to a carrier that generated a strong immune response. They also paired this immunogen with a replica of the HIV spike.

Investigators then tested different combinations of injections of the protein, plus an HIV spike in mice, and analyzed the antibodies that the vaccine regimens generated. The antibodies, as planned, attached to the HIV fusion peptide and HIVPLUSMAG.COM

53-54_PLUS126_Prevention_FINAL.indd 53

53

7/19/18 1:22 PM

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35

neutralized up to 31 percent of viruses from a panel of 208 HIV strains from around the world.

For the next step, investigators moved onto guinea pigs and monkeys—which also generated antibodies. Once they are able to determine a version safe enough for human trials, they can move forward and carefully test it on volunteers.

Another leading contender called the Ad26/Env HIV-1 vaccine was announced to move into Phase 2b human clinical trials using adult volunteers in southern Africa. This exciting vaccine is being developed by a team of researchers at Harvard Medical School.

As a “mosaic” vaccine, it was developed to protect against a broad patchwork of HIV strains. Ad26/Env HIV-1 has already demonstrated immune responses in HIVnegative rhesus monkeys, protecting them from contracting the virus in 67 percent of exposures. (While successful, that isn’t effective enough alone to garner FDA approval.)

The investigation was led by Dan H. Barouch, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in collaboration with Janssen Vaccines & Prevention and other organizations.

In findings published in The Lancet, the Phase 1/2a trials, also known as APPROACH, tested five regimen versions of the vaccine on 393 HIV-negative adult volunteers in Rwanda, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, and the United States.

According to researchers, all five regimens proved to produce a robust immune response. So far, scientists have been “cautiously optimistic” about the results.

Barouch’s team expects results on human trials on Ad26/Env HIV-1 to be made available by 2021 or 2022.

There are more HIV vaccines in development, in various stages of clinical trials. Other broadly neutralizing HIV vaccine candidates are currently being observed in HVTN 702 and Imbokodo clinical trials. The Imbokodo trials, for instance, are examining the efficacy of combining two vaccines: Ad26.Mos4.HIV (Ad26 vaccine) and Clade C gp140 (a protein vaccine). Imbokodo trials have also entered into Phase 2b with human participants.

Now, investigators are looking to improve vaccine effectiveness by making them more potent, possibly by combining multiple vaccines (sometimes in a series of shots) to produce more consistent results and, ultimately, a broadly neutralizing vaccine fit for the public and capable of preventing most strains of HIV. 54

He also became a public speaker, appearing on Logo TV and at speaking engagements as far away as the Virgin Islands, talking about living with HIV. “I am the change I wish to see,” he said in one speech. “If we continue to conceal and fear this disease, we shall never overcome.”

Alexander admits, “I really loved advocacy work and highlighting the fact that people with HIV have normal lives and normal concerns, stresses—and those major things, like housing and proper nutrition, was just as important as the medication.”

The young activist had moved up into doing group facilitation and counseling, and running an empowerment group for young men of color. But working with youth may have helped his next journey in life: “I wanted to have a family of my own and so I went through the entire process to adopt children. In the last three and a half years, I’ve adopted four kids.”

In order to be a good dad, Alexander has stayed adherent to his medication, something he says he’s done from day one. He was undetectable a month after he started treatment, and his T cells rebounded eventually. The activist turned entrepreneur says he did well on the same HIV treatment cocktail for nine years—until like many long-term survivors, he started to battle resistance and kidney issues. (Kidney disease is prevalent among people with HIV, and a handful of diseases can attack the tiny blood vessels in the kidneys, notably HIV-associated nephropathy, which is caused by HIV infection of the kidneys.)

Fortunately, one simple switch in meds made all the difference for Alexander. “Once my doctor changed my medicine, that was it,” he says now. “I’ve only had two different regimens… in the 12 years I’ve been positive.”

Alexander also rebuilt his soap business—in part because of his children. “The little ones had eczema and skin issues, and the medications that they were giving us just had too much stuff in them,” he explains. “So I went back to making [soap] just for us in the house, and then friends wanted some, and family wanted me to send them some.”

Before he even realized it, he had built “a business all over again.”

Now, Zambo Aroma offers a variety of handmade specialties, including herb-infused soaps, lotions, body butters, and bath bombs. Of course, Zambo is more than just a soap store.

Alexander says the “goal and mission of my soap company is to mix art and education with health.

Our mission is to treat yourself… being mindful of what you eat, being mindful of what you put in your body, so that you have less health issues in your future. And we do meditation, we do yoga, and we also have massage therapy happening in the space, as well as art therapy.”

The store partners with a local mental health clinic. “The goal is to make people in our community know that your health starts with you. Even when I did the life coaching and counseling, and even patient navigating, I [emphasized] that you are part of the treatment plan. So if you don’t know what’s happening with your body, you can’t understand or be in tune with the changes that happen in your body.”

He says the key is consistency, too, something he tells those who are newly diagnosed HIV-positive.

“You want to get up every day,” he says. “You want to work. You want to have a healthy life and just take the medicine—not like, force it down your throat but, you know, after a little while it becomes a part of the life. It becomes a part of the schedule and now that I am a parent, and we have five dogs and a cat, taking my medicine is just as normal as giving the kids vitamins at night.”

Today, he admits, “my life is absolutely beautiful and most of the time, when people ask me about my HIV status, it’s not something that depresses me. Only because I know that had I not been positive, I wouldn’t have moved to New York and I wouldn’t have made the connections that I have, or adopted my kids that I have. So you know, everything that’s happening that’s absolutely wonderful in my life is a credit to the stresses and the struggles that I’ve been through in the past. It’s amazing.”

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

53-54_PLUS126_Prevention_FINAL_REVISED.indd 54

7/23/18 8:33 AM

B AC K TA L K B Y D AV I D A R TAV I A

OMAR SHARIF JR. CALLS OUT TRUMP AT #AIDS2018 THE ACTOR DIDN’T HOLD BACK DURING THE OPENING CEREMONY AT THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE IN AMSTERDAM Omar Sharif Jr. officially opened the 2018 International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam this summer, where thousands gathered for the largest conference of any global health issue in the world.

An ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, Sharif also served as the emcee for the opening ceremony while introducing a series of HIV activists. He also took the opportunity to speak about President Trump and his proposed budget cuts, which would impact HIV treatment and prevention around the world.

“I would love to hear what she’d had to say to the current Administration if she was around today,” Sharif said of staunch activist Elizabeth Taylor. “We’re hearing a lot of current events and stats but, I mean, having the President ask Bill Gates twice the difference between HIV and HPV—that’s exhausting. But to be fair, I don’t know if the difficulty for him lies more in the science or the basic alphabet.”

Sharif, the grandson of actors Omar Sharif and Faten Hamama, came out in a letter to The Advocate in 2012. After coming out, he faced a barrage of condemnation in his home country of Egypt. He has since served as a former national spokesperson for GLAAD and is currently an ambassador for the Human Rights Foundation.

“At the height of the Arab Spring,” Sharif recalled, “I became the first Arabic public figure to come out openly as gay and question the Egyptian government’s commitment to basic human rights and equality.”

“My announcement immediately went viral and I was met with widespread criticism, threats of violence, and death threats. I think a lot of people in this room know exactly how that feels. I left the country and I have not been home since. In my region of the world—the Middle East and north Africa—talking about LGBTQ issues, and certainly talking about HIV are incredibly risky. Just starting a conversation takes courage.”

BRENT N. CLARKE/INVISION/AP

ACTOR AND ACTIVIST

HIVPLUSMAG.COM

55_PLUS126_Backtalk_FINAL.indd 55

55

8/2/18 12:19 PM

PA R T I N G G L A N C E S

B Y D AV I D A R TAV I A A N D N E A L B R O V E R M A N

“THE MAN WHO GAVE US AIDS” IS EXONERATED—AND NOW IT’S TIME TO FREE OURSELVES S I N C E H I V WA S classified nearly 40 years ago, gay and bi men have been stereotyped as the primary transmitters of HIV in the United States. The myth was cemented in our consciousness when Gaétan Dugas was identified as Patient Zero in Randy Shilts’s bestseller And the Band Played On. While it was meant to highlight the government’s unresponsiveness to the epidemic, the publicity focused on Dugas specifically, labeling him as the person who brought HIV to America.

And thanks to a typographical error at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the term “Patient Zero” became forever attached to Dugas.

As we now know, the myth surrounding Patient Zero was a deceptive ploy to sell books. As Mark S. King reported for Plus in 2014,

56

“Shilts’s former editor admitted the book needed a literary device and had encouraged Shilts to create the epidemic’s first ‘AIDS monster.’ The athletic sex life of Gaétan Dugas fit the bill nicely and served as a symbol, deliberately or not, for everything people feared about gay sexuality.”

Dugas never had an opportunity to respond to the claims, as he died in 1984, days before the study came out that labeled him Patient Zero.

Meanwhile, researchers were wellaware that earlier HIV cases in the U.S. were present—long before Dugas. One in particular never saw the light of day until much later. (See page 14.)

Then, in 2016, findings printed in the journal Nature rid Dugas of the scarlet letter once and for all, proving the Patient Zero myth to be bogus.

Researchers reported that the strain of HIV responsible for nearly all AIDS cases in the United States arrived on our shores via Zaire and Haiti, around 1971—a decade before Dugas’s blood was ever sampled. The evidence subtly

confirmed that the media birthed a defamatory point of view on gay life: that man-to-man sexuality was unclean and promiscuous, thus punishable by AIDS. And they used Dugas as a scapegoat.

“One of the tremendously damaging consequences of the mass-publicized story of Patient Zero was that it handed a perfect caricature—embodying all of these negative historical stereotypes— to those looking to blame the epidemic on the gay community,” says Richard A. McKay, author of the 2017 book Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic, a historical report into Dugas’s life as well as the media’s role in crafting the Patient Zero myth.

McKay adds, “Clearly people with HIV today still face enormous stigma, though with luck—particularly as awareness of undetectable equals untransmissible permeates broader consciousness—things will improve.”

In memory of Gaétan Dugas, it’s time for gay and bi men to exonerate ourselves. We’re not to blame. And we never were.

RAND GAYNOR

THE GREATEST LIE EVER TOLD

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

56_PLUS126_Parting Glances_FINAL.indd 56

7/19/18 1:22 PM

TAKE P r EP TO N"F@ J @J NI PREVENT HIV JK@P@!N CDP PrEP is a safe, daily pill that reduces your risk of HIV infection. PrEP will not interfere with your hormone therapy.

Use condoms to protect against other sexually transmitted infections.

PrEP-Plus-1_rip.indd 18708 NYC DOH Prep 1Ready Plus 1.indd 1

PrEP is available regardless of your ability to pay. Talk to your doctor or visit nyc.gov/health and search “PrEP.”

8/4/18 8/4/18 12:34 1:07 PM