“I don’t know and I don’t really care” That’s what one performer said when asked about the current HIV discovery in the industry.
I kinda knew it would happen, that sooner or later announcements of HIV in the biz would become so common that nobody cares anymore. That seems to be the case this time. yes my traffic is up modestly but nothing like in the past, I am not getting the panicked phone calls about who is it and how did they get it.
Sure I am getting a few but most performers seem to be just shrugging this one off. Twitter isnt even buzzing about it much. It’s as if someone got Chlamydia or Gonorrhea, if we shut down the biz for those the biz would never be open.
The industry reaction has been to call off shooting for three days and to shut down access to the industry testing system. both seem foolish, the first because three days isn’t long enough to prevent additional exposures and because most people are ignoring the moratorium and now can’t check the system that wasnt being used anyway to validate the tests.
We have heard a lot about a two week testing cycle but what we aren’t hearing about is the fact that performers hate it they dont want to shell out another 125 to 150 bucks for another test. Companies are responding by backing off the two week cycle, most companies are back to a 30 day cycle and most performers are fine with that.
APAC issued a statement yesterday parroting what the FSC said, APAC for all it’s potential has turned into little more than a cheering section for Diane Duke and Jeffery Douglas, APAC has done nothing to take on a leadership role and has done less to establish itself as any kind of voice for talent.
And even I am beginning not to care
33 Responses
Ignorance And Apathy The HIV Reaction http://t.co/NcODzbGD5E
It is concerning that performers don’t care about HIV in the industry. However, I get what you are saying. The adult entertainment industry has had at least one false alarm and moratoria at least three times in the past year and a half. You know the saying about the kid that cried wolf falsely repeatedly and was ignored when he really needed help because of a wolf as a result. I don’t really have a good solution but maybe a moratorium should not be called until the HIV test is confirmed. The industry also needs an independent organization to administer VD testing and call moratoria as truly needed — but make sure this organization is run by competent people and not another “Dr.” Sharon Mitchell.
I will also say this again — Assuming this is not another false alarm I wish the HIV infected person well and hope he/she finds appropriate treatment in order to live a long and hopefully enjoyable life. He/she is fortunate that HIV is not a killer disease anymore as long as appropriate treatment is started early. I also hope that this is an isolated case and was not passed on to anyone else whether that be in or out of the industry.
The cirumstances that lead to the formation of the current industry system no longer exist. Back then, around 1999-2000, there was a close knit community of about 450 performers.(AIM was doing about 400-500 HIV tests each month in 2000-2002). There wasnt all that much extra escorting, and the use of crossover performers was very, very low., and things were much more centralized, not just testing, but production as well.
That industry no longer exists, and the Harm Reduction Program is no longer effective as it once was. All the crossovers, escorts, decentralization, and outright cheating of the system has rendered it ineffective. Add in a heaping dose of apathy, and you have disasteres waiting to happen.
I challenge APAC to take a REAL look at what is happening, and to be HONEST with yourselves, which in turn might lead you to be honest with the rest of your fellow performers. It is up to you to make changes. How many HIV cases in the last two years, and if you dont think a HUGE disaster is waiting in the wings, well then youre as useless as the FSC.
Its interesting to watch the coverage of the Ebola virus scare versus HIV in porn. People forget that in the 1980’s, there was hysteria around HIV once it moved from a homosexual disease to one that middle America had to deal with. Doctors refused to care for certain patients. There were dentists who refused to clean the teeth of HIV patients.
Today, we have that same level of hysteria around ebola, but HIV has become ho hum. If this were the 80’s, we’d be quarantining kids from school if they rode on the plane with an HIV positive person. Instead, no one really cares if a porn performer is infected with an STD. And hey, I guess if they don’t care, maybe I don’t care either.
Sad to say.
Performers DO care about HIV. They just know that if they speak out their careers are over. This is what APAC knows, and if APAC were a real performer advocacy group they would state this publicly but they arent. They are nothing other than a branch of the FSC, doing its bidding on behalf of PRODUCERS.
We all know that speaking us means you never get any work, plain and simple. Unfortunately APAC is part of this, towing the producer party line to stay in their good graces. Or APAC could prove me wrong, which we also all know they wont. APAC going along with a 3 day moratorium is proof of this,,,,a 3day moratoruim,,,,what the fuck???
This is the stupidist and most destructive conversation I’ve ever seen about HIV. Those in treatment are barely infectious – virtually safe – and those not in treatment, but at risk, could access PreExposure Prophylaxis (in effect, Truvada to be safe) through any caregiver. And those who discover they’ve had a recent encounter could access Post Exposure Prophylaxis (Truvada after-the-fact) to kill the virus just in case.
To claim ignorance and espouse apathy is murder.
@Dickhead,
Everything you say is true, But something else is also true, and that is, these people are NOT taking advanage of these options, and that is what the industry has to deal with. That is why the industry has gone to the last resort of a Harm Reduction program. These people are NOT doing what is right, from the medical perspective. They ignore the risks, and continue to take these exreme risks on a daily basis, that is what we have to deal with. PRep, and PEP are not part of the equation here, they should be, but they arent, so that is what we have to deal with.
No one is espousing apathy, they are merely pointing out that it is a huge part of what we are actually dealing with. No one is claiming ignorance, they are simply pointing out that it exists. The only ignorance I see being espoused is the industry telling talent that it is safer to not use condoms.
From the MEDICAL standpoint you have to deal with what is happening today, right now. That is what Harm Reduction is, the last resort when all else has failed, which is the exact situation in porn, all else has failed. PRep and PEP are great, but they arent being utilized, and therefore are not part of dealing with the situation TODAY.
@MikeSouth1226 ?is calm before the storm.?maybe It is said t. :\
That’s like saying Hitler was really the only option. Death which can be avoided, diseases which can be prevented, should be avoided and prevented. Surely “the industry” could give a fucker a pill, before or after.
Further, when somebody’s in treatment they’re not infectious – it is not ONLY a matter of PEP and PrEP. So there is an ADVANTAGE in being in treatment. What nobody in “the industry” seems to realize is that treatment IS prevention, as they say in Vancouver.
And for ANY blog/press on ANY of these activities to ignore prevention is not only bad reporting, it’s actually contributing to more people getting more infections. If that’s what you think is good, go ahead, but it’s probably better if you just slit your throat than contribute to thousands of new infections of a life-changing condition.
the issue with PrEP is it’s adjunctive-it’s not a magic pill. Too many gay performers are popping a Truvada and Cialis and having a great day shooting. For PrEP to work, it still needs to be used with a condom. This not only protects against other STDs, but it’s theCDC recommended guideline.
PRep and PEP are GREAT. They should be used, but the fact is, right now, they are not. You cannot base a response to a medical situation on factors that are NOT part of the equation. Should they be part of the equation, yes of course, are they, no they are not.
ALL of the PReP studies, and you can see these right on the Truvada website, INCLUDE CONDOMS. All of the official studies done on the effectiveness of TRUVADA include the use of condoms. All of the recomendations from the producers of Truvada include USING CONDOMS. There has never been a study on how effect Truvada is without condoms also being used.
HInd sight is always 20/20. But TODAY therre is a situation brewing in the industry. WIll it boil over, only time will tell. But this has to be dealt with TODAY, and today, Truvada(PRep&PEP) is not part of the equation for dealing with this scenario TODAY. What can be done TODAY,,,,,Maybe APAC will grow some balls and put together a real health program for performers, maybe APAC can work with AGENTS to stop booking crossovers, or at least taking a closer look at what their talent are actually doing. And maybe APAC can look into starting a PRep and PEP program. But APAC is in the back pocket of FSC, which they showed when they issued their bs press realeas that was nothing more than repeating what the FSC said.
The industtry has had ample time to talkk about and institute a PReP and PEP program but they havent, and I suspect they never will, and those are the realities that have to be dealt with on a daily basis. Diseases dont wait for political organizations to make policy decisions. And dont think for one minute that ‘the industry,’ that is the FSC is putting health in front of politics. They never have, and never will. That is why it is so disturbing to see what is supposed to be a Performer advocacy group actually advocating for the FSC and Producers, not the talent.
@dickhead
I’m just the butch who will tell you you’re living in a fucking dreamland called utopia! will assume you’re a man thinking with the dickhead you’ve chosen as a moniker.
1. Anything that moves HIV risk discussion towards realistic risk assessment vs hysteria or it’s flip sides of ignorance and apathy is constructive.
2. Your utopia disregards the reality around Truvada in the same measure as performer apathy or resignation to HIV as a risk similar to many of the short course treatable STD risks they face everyday.
3. Moving from plus/negative to your dreamworld is equivalent to FSC & APAC fine ostrich impersonations with their heads in the sand.
4. Take a look at every Truvada report or study and note the following concerns…
4a. Doctors still not prescribing despite CDC guidelines
4b. Docs afraid to prescribe to women using MSM efficacy data w/o a clear reason for dismal failures of Women sex workers and answers to vaginal vs anal transmission…perhaps not an issue for those of you can think with your dickhead, obviously a concern to be addressed by the majority of porn performers..who just happen to have fucking vaginas!
5. Yeah ya sorta pissed me off and messed w/ a Great bottle of wine & hot tub 🙂 moving on…
6. despite widespread media about the nearly 50% of Truvada use being women…When you start talking about data related to how many of those women are IDU (IV drug users) how many are in monogamous HIV sero-discordant relationships and the real zinger…how many are on pharmaceutical study freebie programs…then let’s talk about stupid & destructive.
7. While yer hunting up those three stats it can’t hurt to discuss how Gilead only presented info for MSM studies at the Summer 2014 World HIV/AIDS conference
8. Gilead and EVERY OTHER HIV PEP/PrEP pharmaceutical out there has pretended the dismal failures of Women vs MSM rates went away with the Vaginal Gel & similar ideas to address the discrepancy they can’t explain.
9. Get fucking Real…Porn performing women are having fundraisers left & right for medical issues …if they have insurance they can’t afford co-pays after premiums…if they are on Medicaid good luck with them saying…gee doc I fuck for a living…think you can write me a script for Truvada…lol if they’re brave enough to risk doc shaming they face question…if you have a job fucking why am I paying for your Medicare on top of exorbitant malpractice insurance?
10. Know that spouting your bullshit happy party line might be popular at FSC or even with Ackworth who does everything he can to promote Truvada as a one size fits all solution EXCEPT offer to pay for it as a workplace risk reduction or PPE (Personal Protection Equipment)
@Jilted
totally agree Trudvada is great for those making an informed choice to follow a quite intensive pharmaceutical regimen to reduce their risk is phenomenal because their efforts also reduce the overall risks with every HIV that could have but didn’t happen.
Already laid out concerns re women & vaginal vs anal study data…only other concern is taking data from those MOST compliant and expecting or hoping for those same results with those whose w/o verified compliance data and disputed data with anything from angelic to yer dead STD data depending on who you ask on what day.
Ah…fuck me what a typo…not bUtch…proudly BITCH through and through 🙂
It might also be noted that the patent for Truvada expires in a year or two,,,and there are many who think that offering this drug for prevention is nothing more than a major pharmacutical company looking to maximize its profits before they loose their excluvisity to this drug. If they can get MILLIONS of people, and their insurance companies to pay $14,000.00 each for a yearly presctiption, well you do the math. And whenever the Truvada as prevention fails they simply say the person was not using a condom, like they are supposed to with Truvada.
PReP/Truvada is NOT part of the porn equation. Today, tomorrow, it isnt being used, and is not protecting anyone in porn right now(I am sure there are probably some individuals using it ,,and good for them,,,but not nearly enough to be considered part of the equation yet)
The makers of Truvada are simply engaging in a huge marketing campaing before the patent runs out. Back in the day Roche Diagnostics had the patents on PCR testing, most of which, but not all, have expired, opening the door for others, like Aptima, to market the tests. Just like Samsung still owns patents on some of the big screen, high def TV technology, Roche still owns some of the PCR patents. And when Healthline became the Roche Diagnostics Center of Excellence, lets just say it was, and is, pretty protitable. ALOT of the advances in the last ten years with PCR technology came as a direct result of research we did. Too bad the industry was never interested enough to get in on it, or should I say, too bad they were to short sighted to see the potential to be part of something that is changing the world as far as medical testing is concerned. PCR testing is the future of medicine, and the future is actually now.
http://www.truvada.com/
Straight from the manufacturer,,,,please note that they put in BOLD letters. “Just taking Truvada may not keep you from getting HIV-1. You must continue using safer sex practices.”
Also, reducing you number of sex partners,,, NONE of which apply to porn performers. Truvada is NOT meant to be a substitute for condoms, and the maker of the drug makes that crystal clear.
ANYONE who advocates the use of Truvada in the porn industry as an alternative to condoms is FULL OF SHIT. Read the information DIRECTLY from the makers of Truvada,,,,it was NEVER intended to be an alternative to condoms!!!
What a bunch of smokers – and your stuff ain’t Camels. In the first place, Truvada is not the ONLY PrEP and PEP option – there are already generics available abroad. In the second place they don’t replace condoms, since – as you note – they don’t have anything to do with procreation. In the third place they DO, most definitely, kill the virus with minimal side effects, as is obvious in millions of treatment plans. In the fourth place, once the virus is dead it is … dead, not forever, but until another exposure. And that end-of-virus has nothing to do with condoms, nor with ice cream. It works when infected, and it works before or after an exposure. And – I don’t know where you’re looking – but it’s all over the CDC and NIH websites (eg, http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/AID.2010.0226). If in any doubt, google it.
I am appalled that you jerks still cite “science” that’s nearly 20 years old. In those days, nurses would dose themselves with AZT if they had a needle stick, and it took a decade for the NIH to mount the first clinical trial! But those nurses are still practicing, and still healthy, except for the AZT side-effects.
Finally, both PEP and PrEP are moot if people who have HIV are in – and adhere to – treatment. For them, their viral load is too low to infect a banana. In Vancouver they called this Treatment IS Prevention, but in the US it’s a more tepid http://www.avert.org/hiv-treatment-as-prevention.htm. But, in any case, it’s obvious that such treatments don’t protect against other viral diseases, just as they have nothing to do with procreation. But that’s all old stuff.
And, in any case, there is plenty of evidence that PEP, PrEP, and treatment are enough to end transmission of the disease, at least if they’re not stupid enough to listen to your crap!
Finally, you don’t need a lifetime of PrEP, just a few days, and, if you’re not always, every day, screwing new high risk partners, you only need a week or so of PEP. That ain’t no $18,000.
@Dickhead
Perhaps you missed #8…Gilead AND every other…summer 2014 World HIV/AIDS conference…if you chased down the sources you’re citing, you’d know that’s where the HIV/AIDS stuff CDC will put out at their May 2015 conference originates.
Some facts…Gilead was first to market existing HIV treatment for prophylactic use. They nor any of the tag alongs have or will advocate prophylactic use of their product as an alternative to condoms which used properly not only prevent pregnancy but STIs. Despite two days looking I didn’t find a single mention anywhere of any ‘anal condoms’ in development or marketing to offset the numerous references going back over ten years that CDC hasn’t approved existing condoms for Anal use. (Anyone who knows me, knows it takes more than an early bird to find something I couldn’t)
Now let me open your eyes to some other push-backs openly discussed among docs across America.
1. Every family care doc has patients with HepC
2. Lots of these docs are pissed …downright pissed their 50-80 year old patients whose only known risk of acquiring HepC was being born and living at a time when our nations blood supply was not tested and pre-adolescents routinely played a game of cutting their hands and swapping blood as blood oaths.
3. The docs are further pissed that pharmaceutical reps show up daily offering them one free (no strings…or studies) for every ten insured they prescribe HIV PrEP to…but spend months fighting insurers to get approval for onetime HepC treatment that offsets expected Cancer & transplants in patients with existing disease.
4. Those docs consider the 85k HepC treatment/cure cost as a priority to the >5 year cost of Truvada
5. They base #4 on the known fact that HIV PrEP doesn’t do squat for 30+ other risks including HepC and others whose rates are increasing in populations where PeP/PrEP use is prevalent.
As for PeP use it is amazingly effective. PeP is now part of every American hospital ER sexual victim response protocol as well as many College & University health clinics where date rapes & ooops experiences are prevalently reported thus preventing countless HIV sero-conversions.
Now let’s talk about crap…as in the bullshit you’re trying to sell…
“And, in any case, there is plenty of evidence that PEP, PrEP, and treatment are enough to end transmission of the disease, at least if they’re not stupid enough to listen to your crap!”
Let’s talk about evidence and the studies you’re distorting…the following are all factors that debunk your bullshit statement. They are all partial factors in why Pep/PrEP like worldwide vaccination programs will minimize but won’t eradicate disease.
Do you have a clue how many Americans and people Worldwide….
1. have HIV but aren’t tested or treated?
2. are non-compliant with treatment causing future treatment failures?
3. do not achieve treatment goal of ‘undetectable’ viral loads
4. are treated but have viral loads between 400-2000? (considered minimal to certain risk depending on which group is defining risk)
5. develop co-current HIV strains rendering HIV 1 treatment ineffective?
6. develop co-current non-HIV infections complicating treatment objectives and outcomes (IG TB)
7. don’t know achieving ‘undetectable’ viral load is one thing and maintaining it is another (hence comparisons to diabetes where ongoing blood glucose measurement is a must to disease treatment)
Still looking at evidence and studies…and since you came out selling PeP/PrEP without reservation or qualifying its limitations I’m challenging you to find….
1. any study that proves PeP/PreP is effective to prevent vaginal transmission
2. any study that disproves the dismal failures of PrEP for female sex workers (Asia and Africa)
3. any study that explains Non-IV drug using women failure rates despite proven PrEP compliance via plasma concentrations
“Finally, you don’t need a lifetime of PrEP, just a few days, and, if you’re not always, every day, screwing new high risk partners, you only need a week or so of PEP. That ain’t no $18,000.”
As stated above PeP is an amazing tool for sexual victims and one off ooops situations, however you seem to be using PeP protocol/costs to advocate use of PrEP because your comment is a response to a commercial sex worker contracting HIV thus amounts to suggesting abortion vs birth control pills as a pregnancy prevention solution.
@jilted
Having read all the mfr physician and patient pamphlets as well as countless study data….I’d advocate PrEP use in conjunction with industry wide (that means everyone no exceptions) standard testing protocol to mitigate and reduce HIV risk to its lowest permissible level for porn production. Any protocol I’d advocate would also include industry wide (again no exceptions) participant risk education. Awareness training can’t be limited to filmed participants and must extend to every participant required to produce content.
Just look at the files. http://www.natap.org/
“Fifty-five people (53%) completed all study visits, and 85 (83%) completed their 28-day NPEP course, including 95% of Hispanics, 88% of whites, and 60% of African Americans. Compared with other races and ethnicities, the 28-day completion rate was significantly lower in African Americans (P = 0.001). No volunteers who completed all study visits had HIV seroconversion by the 6-month follow-up visit.
The researchers concluded that raltegravir plus TDF/FTC is a well-tolerated NPEP regimen with high rates of adherence and treatment completion. They proposed that “efforts on prevention strategies need to continue to focus on the high-risk groups, particularly those with low adherence to treatment completion such as African Americans.”
Note that the National AIDS Treatment and Advocacy Project defines “nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis (NPEP)” from the perspective of health professions rather than porno stars….
@Dickhead
“People” isn’t women…also as you note the study is confined to “non-occupational” PEP with a six month f/u…and as I noted…no data is provided for vaginal vs anal exposures.
This is a study that was supposed to appease docs hesitant to prescribe PrEP, it’s also one of the specific studies a doc buddy pointed out to me as a concern of pharmaceutical marketing with much less benign issues than any other drug. Won’t get into all the stuff he rattled off beyond primary concern they are already seeing …treatment failure due to misuse and abuse. That’s why every article or pamphlet re PEP/PrEP comes with disclaimers re importance of prior testing and concerns of less or ineffective treatment if infected.
Regardless…NPEP is in no way shape or form applicable to commercial sex workers and doesn’t negate or mitigate a single point I made against the bullshit you were trying to sell.
BTW…if we keep this debate going, interesting and entertaining gaybors might up their three bottles of wine to six. 😉
If you’re that smart you ought to know there’s a huge difference between NPEP and NPrEP – either before or after exposure. And the key to that difference is how long treatment is needed to be sure the virus doesn’t become embedded. But, even more importantly, if people are already HIV and IN TREATMENT, and if they can show they are MAINTAINING TREATMENT with a high quality test, they are virtually no longer infectious. And that’s not just men, nor just gay men. And it affects virtually everybody. And it is OBVIOUSLY why much of the regulation (particularly that which prohibits HIV+ players in the smut industry) is pure and utter bullshit.
@ BT
Saw your comment after being awoken Wednesday night to a Middle of the night infomercial hawking ‘What your family needs to know to protect itself from Ebola’ book for $14.99..much too reminiscent of HIV hysteria that included precautions to ward of myths like shared drinking straws. When announcer got to kids in daycare already spreading Ebola as a kicker to D68 Enterovirus it was time to get my lazy ass up to find remote 😉
Come on guys (mike, lurk, jilted, xx, bt) don’t give up, we trust in your continued care… and though it’s hard to tell I believe your hard work and attention will and does pay off …..
@Laura
TY if the hot air I spout motivates or encourages someone to look into performer safety and step up to the plate in their world and/or take it a step further by negotiating a workable plan with OSHA for independent producers (one others can copy) then my day would be made for sure!
Any performers or independent producers counting on FSC/stakeholders to negotiate with OSHA/Legislators is asking for trouble. Any deal they work out isn’t going to be in independents favor and when it becomes binding you can bet more will come out of performer/independents pockets than FSC/stakeholders. Best way to stick it to FSC is performers & independents working together to negotiate w OSHA for plans that benefit those most affected and have that become the binding regulation…now that would be a great FU FSC 🙂
@Dckhead
It’s obvious you have no clue where I stand on the positions in your agenda. First and foremost porn’s turn at being targeted for regulation with teeth has come. This isn’t regulatory agencies bashing or singling porn out it’s regulatory agencies recognizing the validity of the industry and trying to bring it in line with other American industries. In the past 100 years nearly every industry that started out exploiting its workers regulations have been negotiated tailoring standardized American Labor laws for easier compliance as the best way to protect workers and keep employers fiscally healthy. Porn and it’s ancillary industry segments won’t be outsourced like the garment and many service jobs were. Look at jobs w/ migrant workers and intermittent or seasonal for the tax base increase over the past 25 years and any doubts that porn’s time has come are easily dismissed. A year ago I made the bold statement that porn regulation is what will pave the road to legalizing other sex work. Since then speaking with regulators and legislators on a personal level it’s amazing how many are ready for a comprehensive safety standards plan..regulators because it unites their hands…legislators get support and a tax base. The kicker every legislator currently accepting porn support via networking or funding outright said or implied they gain more than they lose if they vote for a comprehensive labor safety plan. Some mentioned this or that agency and where their efforts are and headed..all mentioned Truvada and ACA as a motivator.
In every case where details were offered…Truvada or it’s equivalent will be included as an optional PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) to minimize HIV exposure risks. Employers may choose to offer it and workers who opt out of its use will use a form similar to the mandatory vaccine form..documents that worker was offered vaccine and declines for “personal or medical reasons”
Insurers weren’t happy with the cost of Truvada and FDA approval getting pushed through forced ugly changes to their ACA actuarial tables. Now comes some not so back room agreements that happened to appease insurers who were ready to drop Medicare and Medicaid. They get to chase employers for PPE use of Truvada the same way they get to chase employers for WC injuries and competitor insurers for Auto injuries.
So now maybe you’ll appreciate my stance that Truvada is a great drug but pushing PEP/PrEP numbers and stats as equally applicable to all users is going to earn you a rash of shit from me every time! I’m also going to call you out on including generics and equivalents from international sources as oppositional to your goal of HIV prevention. In porn it’s no secret that many performers use legal and black market antibiotics as a prophylactic to testing, some are already using antivirals as well contributing to disease mutation and drug resistant strains.
When you’re ready to discuss facts as a part of the whole picture vs your microscopic agenda…let me know.
Big Thumbs Up Lurk!:)
My primary interest is to make PEP and PrEP, as well as some awareness of the infectivity impact of treatment, all the more evident to groups long ignorant of these opportunities. And the reason for my interest is that Obamacare is the first breakthrough by which a positive HIV diagnosis does not result in cancelled insurance – and therefor the key to reducing the number of unknown carriers of the virus. At $400,000 from diagnosis to death – which was an NIH number two years ago – the real value of ObamaCare is to convert medical practice from treatment to prevention.
Most assuredly that conversion will not be automatic, and has billions of pharma dollars invested in ignorance. As someone who has known plenty of people with HIV as a life sentence, it is painful to wallow in the margins while universal health care, safe testing, reasonable pre and post treatment options, and the value of compliance are all known plenty well to worry less about the edges.
And, incidentally, I can’t imagine how vaginal transmission is exempt from generalizations about anal or by needles: it is not the location that shares the virus, but, rather, the impact of the virus itself on the antibodies. The better precedents for this level of research are, incidentally, in Canada, where the studies go back much longer, and the “treatment is prevention” mantra is already established.
You clearly know a lot more than most disdainers, but it’s like arguing with Birthers – Nobody argues 100% effectiveness for anything, but it sure could be a lot better than it was 20 years ago and the nurses used AZT for the “professional” PEP.
In the porno industry, incidentally, I’m also surprised that no producer has bothered producing a porno movie on how to use PrEP or PEP to stay safer – if not virginal. And, by the way, it’s inconceivable that people would use PrEP to prevent other diseases or pregnancy: that takes a level of stupidity I find – even in this blog – surprising.
In any case, do whatever you will, since you surely will regardless of improving odds and better health opportunities than ever before.
Dickhead,
“Billions of pharma dollars invested in ignorance”
Hate to break it to ya, but Truvada is BIG PHARMA. The producers of Truvada loose their patent in a few short years, so now they are trying to sell their drug to MILLIONS of people before they loose their exclusive rights. As someone who seems to be against big pharma, I would think you would see this for what it is, a huge money grab based on the ignorance you seem to know so much about. Even the Big Pharma compnay that makes this drug says it is ineffective without condoms, even you cant deny that, it is right there in EVERY single peice of literature that the makers of Truvada have ever produced.
As a person who got his first job in a clinical laboratory in 1981, when this HIV/AIDS thing was brand new, and working in this industry ever since, I have seen first hand the evolution of the HIV/AIDS industry. Once in 1982, I stuck myself with a used phlebotomists needle. The next six months of my life were a nightmare.
DICKHEAD, heres some advice, something I also learned the hard way.
You make great points, valid points, that deserve consideration. But you will get nowhere with the way you say it. You can have the best message in the world, but it will fall on deaf ears if you continue to alienate the very people to whom the message is intended. I like what you say, I just dont like the way you say it. And like it or not, your first impression is very important, and you made a bad one. Here’s something else, NEVER underestimate the stupidity of anyone, beleive me, I will never underestimate yours again.
Nothing happens overnite Dick, may I call you Dick? So how is it that the same Big PHarma you rail against, as you say, investing in ignorance, is the same Big Pharma that has created Truvada, and is now trying to sell to people who DONT have HIV? Could it be that youre the one who is buying into the ignorance that the Big Pharma is selling you, that MILLIONS of people spending 14,000 dollars a year on a drug that is only effective if you use a condom. And you are calling others ignorant? Do the math Dick, and see what big pharma is selling YOU dickhead.
@dickhead
Your passionate goal is hampered without more detailed information. Seeking first general then more detailed Truvada information was to understand what the marketing, promotion and advocates were trying to say. Early on the 2012 CDC approval and the supporting studies were sourced so that’s where I looked and found right out front and center the disclaimers and questions by Gilead about vaginal vs anal transmission. Further studies proved the same effectiveness rates for anal and IDU (injected drug use) with the vaginal discrepancy remaining. Looking at the study data for the alternate vaginal delivery routes the frustration of what’s causing this discrepancy is apparent. Hoping the research solved this discrepancy I was all over the 2014 world conference. It sucked finding out the studies only included transexual women and made no reference to heterosexual vaginal rates outside continuing studies for monogamous sero-discordant couples.
For porn use it seems very important to at least mention if not detail this limitation when promoting PrEP/PEP. Performers (regardless of gender or activity preferences) need to know that as use of varied PrEP/PEP applications gain popularity risks may move from reduced/suppressed anal to unknown vaginal effectiveness. This isn’t to discourage PrEP/PEP use but to ensure it’s presented as one of many factors to consider when assessing and responding to STD risks.
Unlike the FSC I include escorting in ‘porn’ and learned escorts negotiate bareback anal requests by untested clients, many insist on oral (lowest transmission risk) and some settle for vaginal with more risk than oral but much less than anal. With effective rates that rival and often surpass the less risky oral choice Truvada is a game changer for those who consider varied activities to mitigate their overall risks.
Peter Acworth of Kink.com has actively promoted Truvada including a Mid-May 2014 HuffPo live with Ciagliarri (sp) that included two advocates (San Francisco and national Non-Profit) focused on advocating Truvada use in porn.
Hopefully this clarifies the difference between someone trying to offer accurate information vs marketing selling points. I’m not selling PrEP/PEP and my vested interest is allowing folks most affected to arm themselves with pros/cons with the glittering promotion offered by pharma and LGBT orgs whose primary focus is reducing MSM HIV rates. LGBT efforts would be laudable if they didn’t treat folks looking to have a rational convo about this issue like they’re Birthers at an Obama convention.
@jilted
Damn…were old fucking farts! read your comment after responding and had to laugh seeing our separate ways of saying..kid yer heart is in the right place but …
Meh we prolly just earned a pat on head for repaying someones patience when we were too young to know better. 😉
@dickhead
Have to address this separately…”You clearly know a lot more than most disdainers, but it’s like arguing with Birthers – Nobody argues 100% effectiveness for anything, but it sure could be a lot better than it was 20 years ago and the nurses used AZT for the “professional” PEP.”
Since you’re brave enough to waltz into a public form and push your agenda here’s a tip. Read back posts/comments to see where the various players stand. Research meeting/conference regulars as well to find your strongest allies and no matter what…no matter how much you know…assume the next guy or newest face in the door doesn’t have some thing to teach you. They may have hooked into the one detail you’re missing or misinformed on for a whole new or more vibrant picture.
Dickhead (I can’t believe I am actually addressing someone as Dickhead on here, couldn’t you have picked a better user name than that), I admit that I am not smoking Camels. I prefer Parliaments and full size cigars myself 🙂
It is interesting that nurses have been taking AZT for 20 years for the same purpose as Truvada is being marketed for today. Unfortunately the patent on AZT run out years ago so no one will do research to see how well it actually works for prevention of HIV. AZT doesn’t cost anywhere near $1100 a month to take (180 pills is currently $143.58 at Walgreens — probably at least a two month supply), if it works just as well the future of HIV prevention could be much brighter than it currently is.