CDC Director Visits Alabama to Discuss Ending HIV
The director of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Robert Redfield, met with public health leaders in Montgomery on Friday to discuss strategies to combat HIV and tour a clinic that provides health and wellness services to people with HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and other life-threatening illnesses.
Thank you to CDC Director Dr. Redfield and so many of our rural health colleagues and representatives of the media for joining us @MAOofAlabama today for a tour of MAO’s clinic in Montgomery. pic.twitter.com/WYhBgpJXcP
— MAOofAlabama (@MAOofAlabama) June 14, 2019
Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced plans to invest more than $290 million to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. Alabama is one of seven states that will receive money through the proposal.
“Alabama is one of the states where its major HIV acquisition is in a sense more complicated,” Redfield said during a press conference, “Because it’s in a rural environment.”
According to data from the CDC, Alabama had the nation’s 11th-highest rate of new HIV diagnoses in 2017. Approximately one in six residents infected with the disease are undiagnosed. Redfield said one challenge is combatting a higher level of stigma in rural communities. He said state leaders have to “normalize” HIV so people feel comfortable getting tested and treated. He also noted the need to reach young black and Latino men. According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, more than 70% of people recently diagnosed with HIV in the state were black.
“We don’t need to develop an initiative that keeps doing what we’re already doing,” Redfield said, “which hasn’t reached the individuals that we’re trying to reach.”
Today, I learned from #Alabama public health officials and researchers, how @CDCgov can better diagnose those living with #HIV, treat their infections rapidly, protect those at risk, & respond rapidly to growing HIV clusters. #EndHIVEpidemic pic.twitter.com/JXwGW4RiVe
— Dr. Robert R. Redfield (@CDCDirector) June 14, 2019
Nationwide, the goal of the Trump administration is to reduce new HIV infections by 75 percent in five years and by at least 90 percent in 10 years. It’s part of the administration’s 2020 budget, which also includes budget cuts for programs that fund treatment of HIV overseas.
UAB building among Alabama’s first to feature ‘bird safe’ glass
Advocates hope the new glass will prevent window collisions, a leading causes of bird mortality.
Researchers look into community health impact of wood pellet production in rural Mississippi
Brown University and Tougaloo College students are testing for potential air and noise pollution near the Drax wood pellet plant in Gloster, Mississippi.
Alabama coal company sued for a home explosion is delinquent on dozens of penalties
Crimson Oak Grove Resources has been cited for 204 safety violations since the March 8 blast, many involving “significant and substantial” safety violations.
The United Auto Workers faces a key test in the South with upcoming vote at Alabama Mercedes plant
The United Auto Workers is aiming for a key victory at Mercedes-Benz in Alabama. More than 5,000 workers at the facility in Vance and nearby battery plant will vote this week on whether to join the UAW.
Gambling, ethics bills fall short as legislative session ends
Alabama lawmakers closed the books on this year’s regular legislative session Thursday. While Republican leaders passed many of their priority bills, perhaps the most talked about issue – gambling – died.
A look at what passed and failed in the 2024 legislative session
Alabama lawmakers have ended a 2024 legislative session that saw the Republican majority win approval for a number of their top priorities.
