S. Evan Cooper 🦠

Looks like we got a biter….

WHO removing Us Flag

The total health care spending for Medicare would increase from $11.4 billion in 2026 to $28.6 billion in 2035, which includes projected increases to the cost of ART, HIV-related care, and other costs not related to HIV.

The increase in Medicare beneficiaries with HIV is projected to increase by 1.3-fold in those aged 65 to 69 years compared with 3.3-fold in those aged 80 years or older. Additionally, the total number of deaths would increase from 5500 in 2026 to 9640 in 2035.

The number of individuals using Medicare who have HIV, are using ART, and are aged 65 years or older is estimated to increase from 111,600 in 2026 to 193,560 in 2035, with increases in all age groups.

The number of Medicare beneficiaries living with HIV and receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) will more than double in the next 10 years due to the life expectancy of people with HIV increasing.

Number of Medicare Beneficiaries With HIV Expected to Double in Next Decade | AJMC Medicare HIV cases are projected to double by 2035, with cumulative costs reaching $195.6 billion and creating critical challenges for federal funding.

Number Of Medicare Beneficiaries Living With HIV, Receiving ART Projected To More Than Double In Next 10 Years, (Study)
#IDSky #MedSky

www.ajmc.com/view/number-...

That’s the most recorded in a single week since the department started tracking cases in 2004, the health department said in a statement.

The New York State Department of Health said Friday that the state is experiencing a record high number of flu cases in a single week. State data show a total of 71,123 positive flu cases reported for the week ending December 20, an increase of 38% from the prior week.

New York State Reports Record Number of Weekly Flu Infections New York State is seeing the highest number of influenza cases ever recorded in a single week, the health department said on Friday.

New York Health Officials Report Record Number Of Weekly Flu Cases #IDSky #MedSky

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Within 12 weeks of enrollment, 93 participants (47.7%) completed follow-up and 69 (35.4%) were linked to care. Linkage to care did not differ significantly between groups. Time to linkage to care was significantly less for PWH in the intervention group in a modified intention-to-treat analysis.

Study participants were randomly assigned to receive a laboratory-based plasma HIV VL test with next-day results in addition to the standard of care HIV antigen/antibody test result or to receive the standard of care HIV antigen/antibody assay alone.

Next-Day HIV Viral Load Test Result and Linkage to Care in Persons at Risk of HIV This randomized clinical trial investigates whether providing a next-day HIV viral load test result increases linkage-to-care rates among people with HIV or with risk factors for HIV acquisition.

IV Viral Load Test With Next-Day Results Does Not Impact Linkage To Care Among Patients At Risk Of Or Living With HIV Not Taking Daily ART, (Study) #IDSky #MedSky

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

By week 48, 94.2% of the weekly group and 92.3% of the daily group had viral loads below 50 copies/mL. The proportion of patients with at least a 95% medication adherence rate was greater in the weekly group (98%) than in the daily group (86.3%).

In 104 virologically suppressed adults with HIV-1 on the daily oral regimen of BIC/FTC/TAF, just 1 patient randomized to receive once-weekly islatravir-lenacapavir had a viral load of 50 copies/mL or greater after 24 weeks compared with none of those assigned to continue on the daily oral regimen.

A once-weekly oral combination of islatravir plus lenacapavir (Sunlenca) for HIV maintained similarly high rates of virologic suppression compared with standard daily oral treatment in an open-label phase II trial.

Once-Weekly Oral Islatravir Plus Lenacapavir Versus Daily Oral Bictegravir, Emtricitabine, and Tenofovir Alafenamide in Persons With HIV-1: A Phase 2 Randomized Study: Annals of Internal Medicine: Vol... Background: Once-weekly oral islatravir plus lenacapavir (ISL+LEN) has the potential to address adherence challenges with daily HIV-1 treatment. Objective: To evaluate efficacy and safety of once-week...

Once-Weekly Oral Islatravir + Lenacapavir Maintains High Rates Of Virologic Suppression In Patients With HIV, (Study)
#IDSky #MedSky

www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...

On Thursday, the FDA also approved the expanded use of another new antibiotic, gepotidacin, to treat gonorrhea. The drug “had previously been approved to treat urinary tract infections in women.

On Friday, the agency approved zoliflodacin, a new antibiotic, a day after an article published in The Lancet reported that a clinical trial had found that a single oral dose of the drug was safe and effective against gonorrhea.

F.D.A. Approves Two New Drugs to Treat Gonorrhea

FDA Approves Two New Antibiotics To Treat Gonorrhea #IDSky #MedSky

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/h...

The trial was an intensive experiment, requiring about 60 clinic visits over two years, and the cooperation of multiple research groups and pharmaceutical companies. It pooled together 3 immunotherapy approaches – drugs that ignite and shape a person’s immune response.

In 6 participants, the virus rebounded slowly and stayed at a low level for months, and 1 person’s immune system kept the virus in check for more than a year and a half – giving hope that they could optimize the approach to create a cure.

A new small study shows a glimmer of hope in the long effort to control HIV without medication and search for a cure for a virus that attacks immune cells. Researchers gave 10 participants a complex regimen of experimental immunotherapies, then discontinued the daily pills that kept the virus at bay

Small study shows a promising path toward HIV cure Antiretroviral drugs that prevent HIV and keep it in check have been transformative, but a cure has been a long-sought goal.

Small Study Shows Promise Toward HIV Cure #IDSky #MedSky

www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...

A senior Administration official stressed that the US would continue its work to combat HIV/AIDS, both through the new global health strategy and through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. Nevertheless, the efforts to unravel our country’s HIV response raise alarm bells.

The federal government is not commemorating World AIDS Day this year as it has done for decades in the past. The commemoration has been marked every December 1 since 1988. The day is meant to raise awareness of efforts to fight the deadly infection and remember those died from it.

The US government is no longer commemorating World AIDS Day | CNN The United States is not commemorating World AIDS Day this year as it has done for decades in the past.

Administration Not Commemorating World AIDS Day #IDSky #MedSky

www.cnn.com/2025/12/01/h...

So Nintendo be like: “I want that Star TOTALLY NAKED!”

‘Alien’ RPG where you play as Jonesy the Cat and your objective is to lure as many crew members to their xenomorph deaths, please! #PAXUnolugged👾

#BookSky - Did you enjoy reading Wuthering Heights? Thinking about giving it a read before the film adaptation in February.

Embarking on a reread of Frankenstein and seem to be in the midst of my Classic Gothic Girlie author era.