The National Institutes of Health has awarded $8.67 million to Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio and Mymetics Corporation of Switzerland to collaborate on the development of an HIV vaccine. Mymetics, a Swiss-based biotechnology company which has a research lab in the Netherlands, focuses on the development of next-generation preventative vaccines for infectious and…
Health & Beauty
With Infection Rates on the Rise, Metro Health Promotes Testing During STD Awareness Month
April is STD Awareness Month and the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District is using the occasion to initiate its new mobile testing van along with a campaign to test at least 4,000 Bexar County residents for sexually transmitted diseases. The campaign, tagged #IKnowMyStatusSA, kicked off last week with the testing van traveling the city manned…
World AIDS Day Serves as Reminder of High Rate of HIV Infections in San Antonio
The global observance of World AIDS Day on December 1 serves as a reminder that San Antonio has what the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District describes in a report as, “a stubbornly high rate of new infections, and widespread stigma and lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS.” Globally, there are an estimated 36.7 million people who…
Dentists and Wives Living Their Best Lives
Once old age renders you ineligible for a sticker at the end of your visit to the dentist, there is little joy involved. That won’t stop the best of dentists from trying, however. For example, Dr. Natalee Treviño Cortez, 36, will go so far as to sing mariachi songs to patients as she works on…
Sexually Transmitted Disease Rates Skyrocket in San Antonio and Across the U.S.
Bexar County has an STD problem. And it’s not going away anytime soon. Texas’ Department of State Health Services documented 18,125 cases of syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea in the county during 2017, down slightly from the 19,066 cases reported the prior year — but still up an alarming 16 percent from five years ago. Statewide,…
Take an HIV Test, Get an Underwear Gift Card and Meet RuPaul Starlet Naomi Smalls
In an effort to encourage more community members to get tested, Unify San Antonio is offering a a $10 gift card from the Male B Wear underwear shop to individuals who get an HIV test at their office between September 14 and 25. Those gift cards can then be spent at Male B Wear during…
Sponsored: Planned Parenthood South Texas Provides Services to the LGBT Community
Planned Parenthood believes everyone deserves high-quality, compassionate health care that’s appropriate for your needs and concerns — no matter your gender identity or sexual orientation. Our five San Antonio-area health centers provide education, support, and sexual and reproductive health services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and intersex patients. Planned Parenthood is proud to…
City Councilman’s Challenge Leads to 4,000 HIV Tests in SA in April
More than 4,000 San Antonians were tested for HIV during the month of April, in response to a challenge issued to the City Council by fellow Councilman William “Cruz” Shaw. According to Metro Health, for the past ten years Bexar County’s new HIV diagnosis rates have been consistently higher than the state and national rates.…
Erika and Shay Forbes-Wilson on Building ‘The Real Power Couples’
“Fall in love, stay in love, using the power of your love.” That is the motto of Reverend Erika Forbes-Wilson and Shay Forbes-Wilson, founders of the San Antonio-based endeavor The Real Power Couples. With marriage equality now a reality, officiants Erika, an ordained interfaith minister, and Shay, a personal trainer, are on a mission to…
‘Bareback’ Sex and Drugs Help Spike STD Rates for SA’s Gay and Bi Men
The ad on the gay hookup site BarebackRT couldn’t have been more succinct. A man was inviting others on the site to a party in a San Antonio hotel room where he would leave the door unlocked and be lying face down on the bed, blindfolded and ready for anonymous sexual encounters, “bareback” — without…