Marriage no longer an issue for many in Massachusetts
WHITINSVILLE, Mass., – Twenty years after he met the love of his life, nearly five years after their wedding helped make history, it took a nasty bout of pneumonia for Gary Chalmers to fully appreciate the blessings of marriage.
“I was out of work for eight weeks, spent a week in the hospital,” Chalmers said. “That was the first time I really felt thankful for the sense of the security we had, with Rich there, talking with the physicians, helping make decisions. … It really made a difference.”
At stake was the most basic recognition of marital bonds — something most spouses take for granted. But until May 17, 2004, when Chalmers and Richard Linnell were among a surge of same-sex couples marrying in Massachusetts, it was legally unavailable to American gays and lesbians.
Since that day, four other states — Connecticut in 2008, and Iowa, Vermont and Maine this year — have legalized same-sex marriage, and more may follow soon. A measure just approved by New Hampshire’s legislature awaits the governor’s decision on whether to sign. But Massachusetts was the first, providing a five-year record with which to gauge the consequences.
See Marriage no longer an issue for many in Massachusetts
Yahoo! * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
 |
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/marriage-no-l…
Mass. gay marriage turning 5
(Boston, Massachusetts) Twenty years after he met the love of his life, nearly five years after their wedding helped make history, it took a nasty bout of pneumonia for Gary Chalmers to fully appreciate the blessings of marriage.
“I was out of work for eight weeks, spent a week in the …
Swine flu guidelines for people with HIV released by CDC
The CDC on Thursday issued “interim guidance” for clinicians treating patients with swine flu who are also HIV-positive.
The full publication is available here.
The document notes that people with compromised immune systems, including people with HIV, are more at risk for seasonal flu, and thus are more likely to be at risk for H1N1, or swine-origin, flu as well.
There are insufficient data available at this point to determine who is at higher risk for complications of swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. However, adults and adolescents with HIV infection, especially persons with low CD4 cell counts, are known to be at higher risk for viral and bacterial lower respiratory tract infections and for recurrent pneumonias.
Evidence that influenza can be more severe for HIV-infected adults and adolescents comes from studies among HIV-infected persons who had seasonal influenza; these data are limited. However, several studies have reported higher hospitalization rates, prolonged illness and increased mortality, especially among persons with AIDS. Thus, immune compromised persons, including HIV-infected adults and adolescents and especially persons with low CD4 cell counts or AIDS can experience more severe complications of seasonal influenza and it is possible that HIV-infected adults and adolescents are also at higher risk for swine-origin influenza complications.
People with HIV who contract swine flu should be treated with antiviral medications zanamivir or oseltamivir, the two drugs to which the virus is not resistant. “No adverse effects” have been reported in people with HIV who have received the two flu medications and “there are no known absolute contraindications” for people receiving the drugs when they are also taking antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV, according to the CDC.
People with HIV should take the same precautions as the general population to avoid contracting swine flu: Swine flu guidelines for people with HIV released by CDC
Washington Blade * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/swine-flu-gui…
AIDS skeptic Maggiore dies in Calif.
(Los Angeles, California) Christine Maggiore, an activist who vehemently denied that HIV causes AIDS, declined to take anti-AIDS drugs and sued Los Angeles County for stating that her 3-year-old daughter succumbed to AIDS-related pneumonia, has died. She was 52.
Maggiore died at her Van Nuys home. She had been treated for …
