Promise of Victory Over H.I.V. Fades as U.S. Withdraws Support; The New York Times, June 25, 2025

Stephanie Nolen , The New York Times; Promise of Victory Over H.I.V. Fades as U.S. Withdraws Support

"This was supposed to be a breakthrough year in the 44-year-long struggle against H.I.V.

Decades of research and investment produced new approaches to vaccines that were going into their first significant clinical trials.

The hunt for a cure was homing in on key mechanisms to block the virus, which can lurk dormant and near-untraceable in the body for years.

Most critically, a breakthrough preventive drug, lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injection that offers total protection from H.I.V., was to be rapidly rolled out across eastern and southern Africa. The main target: young women. About 300,000 of them were newly infected with the virus last year — half of all new infections worldwide.

Every one of these plans has been derailed by the Trump administration’s slashing of foreign assistance."

His custom cancer therapy is in an NIH freezer. He may not get it in time.; The Washington Post, June 18, 2025

 Carolyn Y. Johnson, The Washington Post; His custom cancer therapy is in an NIH freezer. He may not get it in time.

[Kip Currier: Yet another compelling example why effective, well-staffed, responsive government agencies are vital. And another example of how destructive the Trump 2.0 DOGE-facilitated cuts have been and are to the lives of many Americans.

When reading this article, imagine you are the person waiting for the experimental cancer treatment that may save your life. Tragically, you may not get that treatment in time, however, simply because Trump fired the workers who might have been able to deliver it to you.

Fortunately, this Washington Post article is educating us about Richard Schlueter's "time is of the essence" need for his tailored treatment. What about all the other people in similar situations as Schlueter, though, whose stories and urgent needs we don't know?

Our elected officials must do better jobs advocating for the needs of the American people and getting results.

And we the people must do better jobs at being informed citizens ourselves, supporting programs that work for the common good, and voting for candidates committed to the public interest and person-centered, well-functioning democracies that are empathetic and responsive to the practical and aspirational needs of individuals and communities.

Remember these Trump 2.0 DOGE cuts when it comes time to vote for your state and federal representatives.]

[Excerpt]

"In early June, a scan revealed that the cancer that started in his tonsils was racing through his bones. That day, he called a medical team at the National Institutes of Health that had created an experimental cell therapy, custom-made to attack his cancer as part of a clinical trial. He needed it. Now.

Instead, he received more bad news: His therapy would be delayed at least a month because of staff cuts at NIH.

A week later, Schlueter and his wife, Michelle, saw NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya push back on concerns raised by his own staff that the ouster of essential employees and other disruptions to the biomedical research agency were harming science and patients. Bhattacharya said on X that objections raised in a document called the Bethesda Declaration contained “fundamental misconceptions” about NIH’s new direction. Each termination was being reviewed, and some workers were reinstated, he added.

But the Schlueters had a front-row seat to the effects of the job losses. Richard’s therapy was in a freezer, nearly ready to go. All along, they had been told the final step of preparation takes three to four weeks. But on June 3, his NIH doctor informed him that it would now take eight to 10 weeks because of cuts to essential lab personnel — a painful illustration of the life-and-death stakes of the administration’s approach to shrinking the government workforce.

“I’m petrified. I have to do something,” Richard said. “My cancer is on the move.”

The Washington Post first reported in early April that the production of specialized immune-cell therapies for metastatic cancer patients was delayed. Two highly skilled technicians who prepared cells for treatments were fired in the probationary purge in February, according to Steven Rosenberg, an NIH immunotherapy pioneer who leads multiple trials. He declined to say how many patients were affected, but his team now treats one patient per week, down from two or three before the cuts."

‘Extremely disturbing and unethical’: new rules allow VA doctors to refuse to treat Democrats, unmarried veterans; The Guardian, June 16, 2025

 Aaron Glantz, The Guardian; ‘Extremely disturbing and unethical’: new rules allow VA doctors to refuse to treat Democrats, unmarried veterans

[Kip Currier: As The Guardian article's aptly references, these new V.A. treatment rules are "extremely disturbing and unethical". 

The right to exercise one's religious beliefs is a fundamental constitutional right. However, one has to marvel at the dearth of basic decency of a healthcare provider who refuses to treat someone based on their gender, or whether they're married or an LGBTQ+ person.

Is it too much to expect someone who enters the healthcare professions to be able to commit to helping any veteran who needs care, no matter what that healthcare provider's religious beliefs are or are not?

The answer is and should be an emphatic NO.]

[Excerpt]

"Doctors at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals nationwide could refuse to treat unmarried veterans and Democrats under new hospital guidelines imposed following an executive order by Donald Trump.

The new rules, obtained by the Guardian, also apply to psychologists, dentists and a host of other occupations. They have already gone into effect in at least some VA medical centers.

Medical staff are still required to treat veterans regardless of race, color, religion and sex, and all veterans remain entitled to treatment. But individual workers are now free to decline to care for patients based on personal characteristics not explicitly prohibited by federal law.

Language requiring healthcare professionals to care for veterans regardless of their politics and marital status has been explicitly eliminated...

In interviews, veterans said the impact of the new policy would probably fall hardest on female veterans, LGBTQ+ veterans and those who live in rural areas where there are fewer doctors overall."

Yes, They’re Going After Medicare Too; The Bulwark, June 15, 2025

JONATHAN COHN , The Bulwark; Yes, They’re Going After Medicare Too

"One of the more important health care cuts in the legislation would affect Medicare beneficiaries.

And not just any Medicare beneficiaries. I’m talking about some of the most vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities who are on Medicare—the ones who can least afford to deal with punishing medical bills.

The reason these people will feel the impact of this cut is a bit hard to explain. Like so many other provisions in the GOP legislation, it’s not a straight-up reduction in benefits or restriction in eligibility. Rather, it’s a change in the enrollment process for a particular program within Medicaid called the “Medicare Savings Program.”

Yes, you read that right: It’s a program within Medicaid with the word “Medicare” in its title. That’s one of the things that makes it so confusing!

But the short of it is that the program (along with a related initiative) plays a critical role in helping vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries cover their medical costs. And thanks to the Republican bill, roughly 1.3 million people who qualify for the assistance wouldn’t get the benefits, according to official estimates.

Many would respond by not getting medical care they need, and their health would deteriorate as a result. Thousands could die prematurely every year, according to one estimate that a group of health researchers put together last month.2"

U.S. to End Vaccine Funds for Poor Countries; The New York Times, March 26, 2025

Stephanie Nolen, The New York Times; U.S. to End Vaccine Funds for Poor Countries

[Kip Currier: Luke: 12:48: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

What a tragic policy decision -- by the richest country on earth -- to stop financial support for vital vaccines that save lives and protect at-risk Global South children and adults.

As a nation, we have a moral imperative and calling to share our abundance with people in need.]

[Excerpt]

"The Trump administration intends to terminate the United States’ financial support for Gavi, the organization that has helped purchase critical vaccines for children in developing countries, saving millions of lives over the past quarter century, and to significantly scale back support for efforts to combat malaria, one of the biggest killers globally.

The administration has decided to continue some key grants for medications to treat H.I.V. and tuberculosis, and food aid to countries facing civil wars and natural disasters.

Those decisions are included in a 281-page spreadsheet that the United States Agency for International Development sent to Congress Monday night, listing the foreign aid projects it plans to continue and to terminate. The New York Times obtained a copy of the spreadsheet and other documents describing the plans.

The documents provide a sweeping overview of the extraordinary scale of the administration’s retreat from a half-century-long effort to present the United States to the developing world as a compassionate ally and to lead the fight against infectious diseases that kill millions of people annually."

Gov. Shapiro meets with Penn Med leader amid ‘existential’ threat posed by Trump; WHYY, February 27, 2025

Jared Mitovich, WHYY ; Gov. Shapiro meets with Penn Med leader amid ‘existential’ threat posed by Trump

"Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has met with the leader of the University of Pennsylvania’s Health System multiple times as Philadelphia’s largest private employer faces an “existential threat” from a loss of federal funding.

The meetings were described by the dean of Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, Jon Epstein, in a live-streamed message to the Penn Medicine community on Feb. 18 that was obtained by WHYY News. It remains unclear when exactly the meetings were held and whether Shapiro discussed with Epstein a statewide response to the challenges facing Penn and other state universities — including a precipitous decline in the National Institutes of Health’s support for research that has prompted schools to curtail graduate admissions and lay off employees.

In his message, Epstein — who was appointed to his position in a permanent capacity Feb. 11 — painted a dire portrait of Penn Med’s future amid a “chaotic pace of government regulations and executive orders,” many of which have placed the university directly in their crosshairs...

Caught in the middle of the political upheaval are graduate students, researchers and 49,000 employees of Penn’s health system — which the university says supports 79,990 jobs in the region and generates a $15.1 billion economic impact.

Penn’s graduate admission cuts are the difference between studying pharmacology and working at Costco for Keely Barton, a first-generation student whose research appointment at Georgetown University ends in the next month. She was rejected from Penn’s prestigious Biomedical Graduate Studies program Friday, even though she said she was told when she interviewed in early February not to worry about changes at NIH impacting admissions.

On Feb. 7, the NIH slashed the rate it pays universities to support indirect costs to 15%. The weekend she expected to be offered admission came and went...

“I think there’s an entire generation of scientists that could be lost to this,” she said. “We can’t survive as a society without an investment in science.”...

Earlier this week, state lawmakers held an at-times contentious meeting with Jameson in opposition to the school’s scrubbing of web pages related to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — with two officials walking out in protest of one top administrator’s referral to diversity as a “lightning rod."

In the message obtained by WHYY News, Epstein acknowledged that scrutiny of DEI has caused “considerable anger and pain” in the Penn Medicine community.

“For now, it’s clear that we need to modify some of our programs and websites in response to explicit government directives indicating that such diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts violate the law,” Epstein said, while cautioning that the school was not departing from its “core values.”"

Elon Musk’s Cringey Chainsaw Act Exposes a Deep Ignorance Fueling DOGE; The New Republic, February 21, 2025

 Michael Tomasky, The New Republic; Elon Musk’s Cringey Chainsaw Act Exposes a Deep Ignorance Fueling DOGE

[Kip Currier: Read and share this New Republic article with as many people as possible. We must work to raise awareness of what the Trump/Musk alliance is perpetrating and inflicting.

Matthew 20:16: "So the last shall be first, and the first last."

As this article unpacks, even catching a glimpse of the richest man on Planet Earth perversely fetishizing a chainsaw on stage -- as he elatedly wreaks havoc on the lives of Americans and the world -- is both stomach-churning and heart-breaking. We see before us a WWE-esque caricature of a human; a performative individual who is profoundly lacking an ethical center and values like compassion, reason, and integrity.

Elon the Oligarch can buy whatever access his heart desires. He can attain whatever healthcare he or his family needs. Musk also has unfettered access to lucrative government opportunities for self-enrichment, despite having clear conflicts of interest and supporting the abrogation of government ethics rules. The unchecked damage that Team Musk is unleashing will be far-reaching for millions.

Consider just a few examples:

• The veteran who has served this country and may need, say, a pair of hearing aids or a cancer treatment regimen but may not now be able to get the healthcare they need and deserve. 

• The recent college graduate who wants to serve their country in the FBI, FDA, or FAA but who was summarily fired because they were one day shy of finishing their probationary period before DOGE jubilantly sacked them and countless other probationary federal employees sharing their expertise and service.

• The university researcher who has been performing medical research that is leading to new insights and treatments for common and rare diseases but whose funding and research studies may now be halted and eliminated altogether.

Musk wants us to feel guilty for government programs that we support with our tax dollars, while he games the system to advance his aim of being the world's first trillionaire.

When the time comes to vote, remember the politicians who unabashedly are supporting Elon the Tyrannical right now, and the administration giving him a free hand to take a chainsaw to programs that assist persons in need and empower other people to help their fellow humans in need.]

[Excerpt]

"At the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, Elon Musk appeared on stage in oversized sunglasses, a black gothic MAGA hat, a thick gold chain around his neck—and wielding a chainsaw. Ha ha. Over at Politico’s Playbook, the new team may not have heard of the New Deal, but thank goodness they do have enough sense to know that the richest man in the world and the president he works for (or is it the other way around?) might—make that will—come to rue that cringey image.

The way Musk’s DOGE is going about these cuts is the equivalent, as I heard former Biden administration official Mitch Landrieu say on TV this week, of a man thinking he needs to lose 30 pounds and deciding to saw off his leg. That’s funny, and true. But this is even worse. A man sawing off his leg hurts only himself. What Musk is doing will hurt millions of people in ways that we’re only beginning to see.

Here’s one small example, which you likely haven’t read about but which I take a little personally. If you’re one of my regular readers, you know that I was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, and went to my hometown university, West Virginia University, or WVU (not UWV, thank you). A week ago, West Virginia Watch, a small nonprofit news organization in the state, moved a story noting that the university expects to lose $12 million annually in funding that supports cancer and vascular research. 

Under dynamic Dean Clay Marsh, a native of the state recruited back to West Virginia from Ohio State by WVU President E. Gordon Gee (and the son of hell-raising newspaper editor Don Marsh, who once upon a time made The Charleston Gazette one of the most aggressive regional newspapers in the country), the cancer institute has made tremendous strides. The cuts, a university spokeswoman told West Virginia Watch, could cost the school the faculty it has recruited to do the research and conduct the clinical trials that could lead to the breakthroughs that would save a lot of lives in the state with the third-highest cancer mortality ratein America.

And if it’s $12 million at the smallish West Virginia University Health Sciences Center, imagine what it is at New York University, or UCLA, or Johns Hopkins, or even much larger state research hospitals in Florida or Washington. And it’s happening to every state university medical system in the nation."

Gilead Agrees to Allow Generic Version of Groundbreaking H.I.V. Shot in Poor Countries; The New York Times, October 2, 2024

 Stephanie Nolen , The New York Times; Gilead Agrees to Allow Generic Version of Groundbreaking H.I.V. Shot in Poor Countries

"The drugmaker Gilead Sciences on Wednesday announced a plan to allow six generic pharmaceutical companies in Asia and North Africa to make and sell at a lower price its groundbreaking drug lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injection that provides near-total protection from infection with H.I.V.

Those companies will be permitted to sell the drug in 120 countries, including all the countries with the highest rates of H.I.V., which are in sub-Saharan Africa. Gilead will not charge the generic drugmakers for the licenses.

Gilead says the deal, made just weeks after clinical trial results showed how well the drug works, will provide rapid and broad access to a medication that has the potential to end the decades-long H.I.V. pandemic.

But the deal leaves out most middle- and high-income countries — including Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, China and Russia — that together account for about 20 percent of new H.I.V. infections. Gilead will sell its version of the drug in those countries at higher prices. The omission reflects a widening gulf in health care access that is increasingly isolating the people in the middle."

‘It was getting ugly’: Native American drummer speaks on the MAGA-hat wearing teens who surrounded him; The Washington Post, January 19, 2019

Antonio Olivo and Cleve R. Wootson Jr., The Washington Post; ‘It was getting ugly’: Native American drummer speaks on the MAGA-hat wearing teens who surrounded him

"The images in a series of videos that went viral on social media Saturday showed a tense scene near the Lincoln Memorial.

In them, a Native American man steadily beats his drum at the tail end of Friday’s Indigenous Peoples March while singing a song of unity for indigenous people to “be strong” in the face of the ravages of colonialism that now include police brutality, poor access to health care and the ill effects of climate change on reservations.

Surrounding him are a throng of young, mostly white teenage boys, several wearing Make America Great Again caps, with one standing about a foot from the drummer’s face wearing a relentless smirk."

Republicans say they’ll protect you if you have a pre-existing condition. Don’t believe it.; Washington Post, 1/13/17

Paul Waldman, Washington Post; Republicans say they’ll protect you if you have a pre-existing condition. Don’t believe it.

"Here’s a list of some things that will return once they repeal the ACA:

• The application process for insurance will become much more cumbersome and onerous.
• Insurers will be able to charge people with pre-existing conditions higher premiums.
• Insurers will be able to impose yearly and lifetime limits on benefits, which affects people who have serious illnesses or accidents. This could apply to those with good employer-provided coverage as well as those who buy on the individual market.
• “Job lock,” in which people are afraid to leave their job and do something like start a new business for fear of losing the insurance they have, will return.
• Insurers will be able to charge women higher premiums than men, because they consider being a woman to be a pre-existing condition.
• Insurers will be able to rescind coverage when you get sick.

All of that was eliminated by the ACA. It’s possible that in their replacement plan Republicans might take steps to retain some of what the ACA did in these areas, but right now we just don’t know.

So let’s look at what we do know."

Cancer survivor who once opposed federal health law challenges Ryan on its repeal; Washington Post, 1/14/17

Amy Goldstein, Washington Post; Cancer survivor who once opposed federal health law challenges Ryan on its repeal

"“Just like you, I was a Republican,” Jeff Jeans began. Standing on the stage, the Wisconsin congressman broke into a grin as Jeans said he had volunteered in two GOP presidential campaigns and opposed the Affordable Care Act so much that he'd told his wife he would close their business before complying with the health-care law.

But that, he said, was before he was diagnosed with a “very curable cancer” and told that, if left untreated, he had perhaps six weeks to live. Only because of an early Affordable Care Act program that offered coverage to people with preexisting medical problems, Jeans said, “I am standing here today alive.”

The speaker's smile vanished. His brow furrowed.

“Being both a small-business person and someone with preexisting conditions, I rely on the Affordable Care Act to be able to purchase my own insurance,” Jeans said. “Why would you repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement?”

Ryan went for the human touch. “First, I am glad you are standing here,” he replied. “I mean really. Seriously. Hey. No really.”

But Jeans interrupted him: “I want to thank President Obama from the bottom of my heart, because I would be dead if it weren't for him.”"

Son Of Immigrants Is First Openly Gay Man Elected To Georgia Legislature; Huffington Post, 11/10/16

Kimberly Yam, Huffington Post; Son Of Immigrants Is First Openly Gay Man Elected To Georgia Legislature:

"“The election of an openly gay man to the Georgia General Assembly represents just one more step on the road to full equality for LGBT people in Georgia,” Jeff Graham, executive director of LGBTQ advocacy organization Georgia Equality, said in a statement about the historic win...

The 31-year-old, whose campaign focused on economic growth and security, healthcare, and civil rights, explained that it was his mother’s cancer diagnosis in 2014 that impacted his decision to run for office.

“As I take my mom to her chemo appointment every two weeks, I am constantly reminded of the importance of health insurance. Access to healthcare is a matter of life or death,” Park wrote on his website. “Knowing this, based on my experiences and faith, I am compelled to run for public office to ensure all Georgians have access to healthcare by expanding Medicaid in Georgia.”"