Heather Boerner
Heather Boerner is an award-winning journalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition to contributing regularly to TheBody and TheBodyPro, Heather's work has appeared in NPR, PBS NewsHour, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, and more. In 2016, she won the Best Coverage of HIV award from the Association of LGBTQIA Journalists.
Latest by Heather Boerner
Every Stigma That’s Old Is New Again: The Coronavirus, HIV, and Junk Science
As with HIV, it’s time to skip the conspiracy theories and focus on public health.
Held Harmless
Science guided Switzerland away from prosecuting people living with HIV for theoretically exposing their partners to the virus. Could it happen here, too?
CDC Guidance on Safer Conception: Families Talk Back
The CDC issued safer conception guidance that left out a lot of couples and science. Real-life HIV-affected families respond.
Press Ban at National PrEP Summit Was a Bad Idea for HIV Community
Some HIV journalists got a nasty surprise recently when they attempted to register for NMAC's National HIV PrEP Summit.
Lives Won't Wait: A Day in the Life of a Syringe Exchange
What's it like to operate a syringe exchange in a highly regulated but still criminalized place such as Pennsylvania? Heather Boerner spent the day with Prevention Point Pittsburgh to learn more about the realities of HIV and overdose prevention, har...
How One Man Found Freedom Through an Undetectable HIV Viral Load
For Bruce Richman, this year's July 4th marked six years of undetectable viral load. He celebrated freedom from the years of isolation when he felt toxic to others, now that he knows about treatment as prevention.
PrEP Prevents HIV -- So Where Are the Prescriptions for Women, Sex Workers and Drug Users?
HIV doesn't discriminate -- but what's with the prescription blind spots when it comes to PrEP for, well, people who aren't (or aren't just) gay men? Heather Boerner reports.
In Tune With Safer Sex: HIV Prevention in Kink and BDSM Culture
It's sexual shame and stigma that can get in the way of safety -- not edgy sex and power play, says Dr. Tony Mills, a former International Mr. Leather and an HIV doctor who counts many kinksters among his patients.
If Half a Billion Dollars for HIV Services and Treatment Disappears, Who Pays the Price?
The 340B program was meant to provide an income stream for cash-strapped HIV agencies and state programs that provide HIV drugs. But a proposed rule change could gut the payment stream that has kept agencies afloat and people on meds, leading to long...
The Birth of PrEP Denialism
"Drug companies are greedy," opines Heather Boerner, "but that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider PrEP."