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…
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…
San Antonio Researchers Find Potential New Defense Against HIV Virus
A San Antonio research team under the leadership of Dr. Ruth Ruprecht has uncovered a potential new defense against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Dr. Ruprecht is the director of the Texas Biomed AIDS Research Program. She and her team discovered that IgM, an antibody which is present in humans, was effective in preventing…
Big Gay Brunch at Knockout Sports Bar to Benefit Mujeres Unidas
Knockout Sports Bar’s weekly Big Gay Brunch returns on Sunday, August 12 with a fundraiser for Mujeres Unidas. Mujeres Unidas’ mission is to support women and Latinx communities affected by HIV/AIDS through education and facilitating access to prevention resources and local agencies that provide direct care. There has been a 50 percent increase in people…
AtticRep’s Interactive Performance Takes Aim at HIV Stigma
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. Developed by controversial Brazilian dramatist and activist Augusto Boal, the experimental concept of Forum Theatre invites spectators onto the stage to become “spect-actors” who help determine the outcome of a play. Closely linked with Boal’s socially and politically leaning Theatre of the Oppressed, Forum Theatre has been employed…
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.…
Wellness Expo Slated for Woman and Girls HIV-AIDS Awareness Day
The 13th annual National Women and Girls HIV-AIDS Awarness Day will be observed in San Antonio with a wellness expo on March 9 at the YWCA Olga Madrid Center on Castroville Road. The event is being organized by the San Antonio HIV Awareness Coalition in association with local health and community service organizations. The theme…
San Antonio Vows to End AIDS by 2030
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. San Antonio has become the first city in Texas to sign onto an international initiative to eradicate AIDS by 2030. The initiative, known as Fast Track Cities, has three goals in mind for San Antonio residents: that 90 percent of people with HIV are diagnosed (currently 86 percent),…
SA Observances to Mark World AIDS Day 2017
San Antonians will be among the millions of people around the globe who will be observing World AIDS Day on December 1. The observance, which was started in 1988, is billed as an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate…
On the Chartreuse Couch: Gene Elder Interviews Andrew McPhaul
Gene: So Andy, so nice to have you visit the Chartreuse Couch. You have been in San Antonio since the early ’70s. What brought you here? Andy: My first visit happened in 1970. I came to visit a friend who lived at 323 East Park Avenue, in a duplex in the back of the property.…