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Myles Helfand

@myhelfy.bsky.social
280 followers 155 following 515 posts

he/him | exec editor of TheBody and TheBodyPro | journalism-ing for HIV communities since aught-one | unsecret gamer | personality type: Mets fan

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Reposted by Myles Helfand
🌈Tyranny🫧Sparkles🏳️‍🌈 @tyranny.sparklenoise.com · 25/08/2026
Dolly Parton with Keith Haring in 1985, incredible woman and supporter of LGBTQ people for decades going back to a time when few others dared.
Black and white photo of Dolly Parton with gay artist Keith Haring.
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talia jane @taliajane.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
BREAKING: On the 39th anniversary of the founding of ACT UP, protestors have shut down traffic outside Grand Central demanding “Money for AIDS and healthcare, not for ICE and warfare.”
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
I love seeing this. Can't understate how unusual these moments are: Research conferences are tightly planned; audience is academic (ie, trained to be reserved); and the experience is NOT made for media. In my 25 years in HIV, I've seen maybe a handful of these? It always signals a watershed moment.
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Reposted by Myles Helfand
Gabriel Malor @gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
UPDATE (5/18): The 4th Cir. will rehear this case en banc. Case is scheduled for oral argument at the next available court session. Order --> www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/242...
ca4.uscourts.gov
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Melissa Barber @mbarber.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Today, MSF is going public with something we've been fighting behind closed doors for months: Gilead will not sell us their new HIV drug, lenacapavir. The sticking point isn't even price, they just refuse to sell. Open letter linked + explainer 🧵1/ www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/gilea...
doctorswithoutborders.org
Gilead refuses to sell groundbreaking HIV prevention drug to MSF
Blocking humanitarian organizations from accessing a medical breakthrough puts vulnerable people across the world in danger.
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Positively Aware @posaware.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
This is a stopgap measure in effect through June 30 as lawmakers work toward a new state budget for the 2026–27 fiscal year. positivelyaware.com/florida-adap-temporary-funding
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Reposted by Myles Helfand
Oni Blackstock, MD MHS @oniblackstock.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Florida, the same state that tried recently to cut health coverage for 1000s of people with HIV, has now charged an HIV+ woman w/ a felony for not disclosing her status to her sexual partners. Florida's HIV criminalization laws don't require actual transmission nor intent to transmit the virus.
wpbf.com
West Palm Beach woman arrested for not disclosing HIV status to her intimate partners
Julieann Pixley is now facing felony charges for not informing her partners of her positive HIV status before sleeping with them.
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Alicia Ault @aliciaault.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Still needs to pass the Florida House. The amendment redirects money from a state trust fund to ADAP thru June 30, would maintain eligibility at 400% of the FPL, and direct FL to directly distribute medications to enrollees. #IDsky #AIDS #HIV #RyanWhite #publichealth #LGBTQ
floridaphoenix.com
Senate moves to save AIDS drug assistance program from DeSantis administration cuts • Florida Phoenix
In a dysfunctional session that has been underscored by what one senator called an “inexcusable amount of animosity,” the Senate on Tuesday offered to pump nearly $31 million into a program that provi...
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Reposted by Myles Helfand
HIVMA @hivma.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
ICYMI: Watch PrEP4All, Positively Aware and the PrEP Users’ Union’s first policy update on increasing PrEP access in 2026, including the PrEP Assistance Program Act: bit.ly/4slqg8C
youtube.com
The PA Chat | PrEP4All | February 2026 Policy Update
PREP USERS' UNION PREP POLICY UPDATE Wednesday, February 11, 2026 We are fighting to put lifesaving medication into the hands of everyone who needs it. PrEP4All & Positively Aware
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Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Tens of thousands of Americans are losing access to treatment for H.I.V. as nearly 20 states impose restrictions on assistance programs and several others weigh such changes. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/h...
nytimes.com
States Move to Limit Access to H.I.V. Treatment
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Positively Aware @posaware.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
To change your plan, call the Marketplace Call Center at 800-318-2596 (TTY: 855-889-4325). Deadline to change plans is April 30. Details here: positivelyaware.com/special-enrollment-period
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
A wonderful, empowering interview with an incredible human!
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Positively Aware @posaware.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Whether we show up using our personal health stewardship or community organizing, through word-of-mouth networks or formal advocacy, we are asserting our right to health and dignity in all the ways that matter, writes HIV specialist Dr. Stella Safo. positivelyaware.com/why-advocacy-matters
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Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 26/02/2026
like this isn't 2012, there are no national queer rights orgs who are flush with cash. Everyone I speak with is dramatically cutting their budgets. And red state queer orgs are always fighting uphill on a shoestring budget. My challenge to you today is to google a red state queer org and donate.
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aidsmap @aidsmap.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
News from CROI 2026: PrEP uptake was already low – and then came the cuts #CROI2026
aidsmap.com
PrEP uptake was already low – and then came the cuts
Even before the Trump government slashed its overseas HIV budget last year, with prevention facing some of the deepest cuts, very few countries in the world had enough people using PrEP to substantially reduce their HIV infection rate, or even to make a noticeable dent in it.
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HIV i-Base @hiv-i-base.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Final results from #PREVENIR at #CROI2026 show continued #HIV protection from 2:1:1 #PrEP dosing in gay and bisexual men in #Paris: i-base.info/htb/53282 The study also highlights the need for better #PrEPaccess in #France for those born abroad. #HIVsky #HIVprevention #HIVresearch #SexualHealth
Colourful i-Base graphic. The main text reads: Large 8-year study confirms 2:1:1 on-demand PrEP is as effective as daily dosing. In the top left is i-Base’s website address: I hyphen base dot info. A smaller rectangle in the bottom right, reads: HIV news. 2026. CROI 2026, is in the top right corner with CROI’s logo, a colourful illustration of the HIV virus. At the bottom, text reads, Denver, Colorado. February 22nd to 25th. Large colourful virus illustrations are faintly seen in the background of the image. The colours used in the image are pale blue, pale green, orange, dark blue, purple, turquoise, yellow, white, pink, green and black.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Lenacapavir for PrEP was the big "star" of #CROI2026 after showing almost 100% effectiveness in preventing HIV in 2 large RCTs. Unfortunately at a pricing point of 28000$ a year it remains inaccessible to most. A drug is only as great as the number of people who can access and benefit from it.
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 25/02/2026
1. Major news on trans youth care. The American Psychological Association has reaffirmed its full support for its 2024 guidelines supporting trans youth car.e It provided documentation showing Jesse Singal mischaracterized their position in the NYT. Subscribe to support our journalism.
erininthemorning.com
American Psychological Association Reaffirms Support For Trans Youth Care, Pushes Back Against NYT
A recent article from Jesse Singal in the New York Times seemed to indicate the organization might be quietly retreating from supporting trans youth care.
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Reposted by Myles Helfand
Oni Blackstock, MD MHS @oniblackstock.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
The federal government is trying to deregulate AI. In the last three months, both NYC & NYS have passed AI oversight laws. For these to be successful, communities need to lead and have decision-making power. 🔈Read my new op-ed on participatory AI governance! www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...
Screenshot of a Health Affairs Forefront webpage article. The headline reads, “New York City And State Have Passed AI Laws—Now Communities Must Lead,” by Oni J. Blackstock, dated February 24, 2026. Related topics listed at the top include artificial intelligence, decision making, public health, and health disparities. Below the title is a large header image showing a blurred medical/clinical background overlaid with white connected digital icons (including people, a microscope, a robot arm, a smartphone with a brain graphic, a wheelchair symbol, and an apple) surrounding a large central “Ai” symbol, suggesting AI in healthcare and public health.
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Positively Aware @posaware.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
A long-term survivor and advocate reflects on his 6 years as vice chair of the Broward County HIV Health Services Planning Council and cultivating a new generation of community leaders. Read Von Biggs’ First Person commentary here. positivelyaware.com/passing-the-torch
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AVAC @avac.org · 23/02/2026
As #CROI2026 opens in Denver, this New York Times piece lands squarely on the conference’s central theme: the real-world consequences of US decisions on #HIV funding & #globalhealth leadership & the human cost when support is withdrawn & science is attacked. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/o... #IDSky
nytimes.com
Opinion | What Happened in Chicago When Science Became the Enemy
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AVAC @avac.org · 23/02/2026
"...The pendulum that has been swinging against us...will, if we fight for it, eventually swing back. You are a community that gives us miracles. With empathy as your driving force, you save lives, your history will pull the pendulum back." @prep4allnow.bsky.social's Peter Staley #CROI2026 #IDSky
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Devex @devex.com · 13/02/2026
The end of the PEPFAR-funded DREAMS program cut off HIV-prevention support for millions of girls across sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya, health experts warn the consequences are already visible.
devex.com
Life after DREAMS: Kenya’s girls navigate HIV risk without US support
Life after DREAMS: Kenya’s girls navigate HIV risk without US support
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Reposted by Myles Helfand
TAGHIVscience @taghivscience.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
#HIV #NIAID
Exert from an article in Nature by Max Kozlov reporting on plans to restructure NIAID at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the text reads:

The restructure is also expected to target the NIAID division focusing on HIV/AIDS research, which oversees a $1.5-billion portfolio of projects developing therapeutics and vaccines against the virus. The division’s 33 branches will likely be consolidated, one NIAID employee tells Nature. But it’s not clear whether the total number of projects or amount of money the division doles out will be impacted, the employee adds.
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AVAC @avac.org · 12/02/2026
This week marks 1 yr since AVAC sued the US government over the sweeping #ForeignAid freeze that halted #HIV & #GlobalHealth programs overnight. Watch our Executive Director, Mitchell Warren, explain what happened, what was at stake, and why this case still matters, www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXfM...
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Lots of HIV programs included in this list
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Reposted by Myles Helfand
Rick Guasco @rickguasco.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
@posaware.bsky.social, @prep4allnow.bsky.social and thePrEP Users’ Union invite you to an update on challenges to PrEP access & research; we’ll also discuss policy issues and proposed legislation impacting PrEP in our communities. Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 2p. ET. Register: bit.ly/preppolicyupdate
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
I'm ridiculously honored that Dr. Blackstock and the amazing humans at PIBA chose to use TheBody as a platform to help announce this critical new campaign. If the HIV-related work you do at all intersects with Black folks, this is worth your time to read -- and to complete the survey!
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
This starts in a couple of hours!
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
An important note, since I quote-posted this prior to reading the full article (shame on me!): The 'halt' may well be temporary as state officials scramble to apply at least a veneer of legality to what they're trying to do. But it does at least buy the people impacted, and HIV orgs, some time
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Well, how about that
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
This is true for many small pubs as much as it is for individual freelancers or self-publishing journalists -- and it's one of the many reasons it's so disappointing, infuriating, etc., to see large media orgs caving to farcical legal threats. They're the ones best equipped to fight! And yet.
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
This is looking to be an important grassroots resource -- worth tuning in!
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
"No public hearing was held, no public documentation was released, and no transition plan was provided. Despite requests dating back to 2024, DOH still refuses to show how it calculated the $120 million shortfall it claims."
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
This is on top of a considerable peeling back of HIV-related funding cuts that had been pushed by the Trump admin and stamped by the House. Important, tactile progress against the tide
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 20/01/2026
6. Now, with this release, the final HHS and Education bills contain no anti-transgender provisions: no ban on hospitals providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth, no threats to strip funding from schools that support transgender students or allow them to use the bathroom.
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Oni Blackstock, MD MHS @oniblackstock.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Good news, for once, in a long fight to preserve #HIVfunding! The FY2026 Conference bill - aka the final negotiated bill that passed both chambers and was signed into law - preserves the majority of HIV prevention & treatment funding, ignoring the cuts that the President and the House proposed.
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Florida is making its ADAP eligibility much stricter, which will make many people scramble for other options. That this appears to be happening with no warning is cruel, tho it’s ostensibly related to the loss of ACA credits
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
Take it from a long-time highly regarded HIV doc who had a front-line seat as antiretroviral treatment evolved.
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 18/12/2025
For readers who are about to lose care, I have been told that the Trans Youth Emergency Project is helping the families of trans youth contingency plan to access that care. www.transyouthemergencyproject.org
transyouthemergencyproject.org
Trans Youth Emergency Project: Supporting Families of Trans Youth
Supporting families of trans youth nationwide through the logistical and financial burdens of navigating bans on gender-affirming care.
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
They will not succeed — both because they are wrong and because, ultimately, such people always fail. The only question is how many people will be harmed in the interim and what we, as people who care, will do to support and protect those being targeted. (This, to be clear, is not a new question.)
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Josh Barocas, MD ⭕️ @jabarocas.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
This is when every single hospital in the country needs to say no. Shut down all the hospitals and see what happens.
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Science Magazine @science.org · 17/12/2025
Jeanne Marrazzo, the former head of the U.S. NIAID, has sued the federal government, which fired her on 26 September. Her suit claims it did so in retaliation for a whistleblower complaint she filed against the Trump administration. scim.ag/48HUI5X
science.org
Fired NIH institute head sues Trump administration
Jeanne Marrazzo says she lost her job because she spoke out against risky public-health policies
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TAGHIVscience @taghivscience.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
RFK Jr, the current Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, is fully immersed in the murderous falsehoods of AIDS denialism: RFK Jr, June 2023: "There are much better candidates than HIV for what causes AIDS." nymag.com/intelligence...
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
#FDA has approved a new 1st-in-class oral antibiotic for the treatment of #gonorrhea, which has been making its way through the armamentarium of available antibiotics. Nuzolvence was brought to market through a private-public partnership involving @gardp.bsky.social. www.statnews.com/2025/12/12/f...
statnews.com
FDA approves first new kind of drug to target gonorrhea in decades
The bacterium that causes gonorrhea has developed resistance to nearly every antibiotic used against it
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
This is cool.
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Oh for crap's sake www.courthousenews.com/military-ask...
courthousenews.com
Military asks Fourth Circuit to let it disqualify applicants with HIV
The military argues that HIV-positive service members pose significant financial and logistical burdens, while advocates argue the concerns are outdated thanks to modern science.
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Myles Helfand @myhelfy.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
This is a useful breakdown! And a compelling argument -- though I'm not sure I'm convinced that this can hold true for gender/sex-specific data. We know trans erasure is happening -- but do we know if every research team is handling that the same way? "Sex assigned at birth" isn't always known.
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 08/12/2025
1. In a Sunday Night surprise, the trans healthcare coverage ban has been removed from the military NDAA. Congressional leaders released the negotiated bill this evening, and though the House AND Senate contained the provision, it is not in the final bill! Subscribe to support our journalism.
erininthemorning.com
Trans Healthcare Coverage Ban Stripped From Negotiated Military NDAA Bill In Sunday Night Surprise
Anti-DEI and sports ban provisions for the military still exist in the bill, but the removal of a health care provision is a major victory for transgender people in congressional legislation.
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