• Smallpox Vaccination Begins in U.S. -- Precautions Needed
  People with HIV and certain other medical conditions must avoid smallpox vaccination, and also vaccinia infection from others who have been vaccinated recently.

• U.S. Blocks Trade Agreement on Generic Drug Access in Poor Countries
  Governments can override patents for legitimate purposes, including public health. But many small or poor countries have no pharmaceutical industry to manufacture medicines themselves, and global trade rules being phased in will prevent others from exporting to them without the patent holder's permission. Negotiations to solve this problem broke down when the U.S. insisted that any agreement apply only to AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and similar major epidemics -- excluding cancer, heart disease, and hundreds of other diseases.

• Tenofovir (Viread®) Access for Poor Countries
  Gilead Sciences announced that it will make its drug tenofovir available at cost in all of Africa, and in some of the poorest countries elsewhere.

• ADAP Crisis: Sign-On Letter for Organizations, Before January 6 If Possible
  The AIDS Drug Assistance Program is facing its worst crisis ever. Advocates are asking for organizations to sign a consensus letter to be faxed to Congress.

• Retroviruses Conference: Caution, January 10 Housing Deadline; Registration Still Open
  Even if you have been accepted to the Retroviruses conference and do not need housing there, you must complete the housing process by January 10 to prevent your registration from being cancelled.

• New Government AIDS Web Site, Phone Number
  A new site, www.aidsinfo.nih.gov, has government-approved treatment information, as well as searchable listings of government and private clinical trials.

ISSN # 1052-4207

Copyright 2002 by John S. James. Permission granted for noncommercial reproduction, provided that our address and phone number are included if more than short quotations are used.