McHenry County Blog

Recommended in the late 1980’s by President Ronald Reagan’s AIDS/HIV Commission--on which Illinois State Rep. Penny Pullen (R-Park Ridge) served--the Illinois General Assembly finally seems to be following the advice that she and to-be-Clinton AIDS Czarina Christine Gebbe agreed upon.

The Daily Herald’s Amber Ellis wrote the story on Friday.

The legislation was “overwhelmingly approved” by the Illinois House, the article says.

It doesn’t say that the AIDS Foundation of Chicago opposed the bill.

Now, patients have to give written consent to get an HIV test.

It has not been a routine test like it will be when this legislation becomes law. Even then, people can opt out, if they wish, but that's the case with any test.

The virus has its own civil rights protection. No other disease has been treated like HIV.

And, if you were a germ, wouldn’t you want to make it hard to be found?

Why would you want to let your host know he was sick?

So, why did an Illinois House dominated by Democrats change its mind?

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (sic) finally decided to require it- -almost 20 years after the recommendation was made by the Presidential Commission- -if states were to continue to get subsidies from the federal government.

Nothing like money as a motivator.

Labels: AIDS, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Christine Gebbe, HIV, Penny Pullen

As I was reading the Chicago Tribune while waiting for my swim conference- bound son to finish a two-hour practice, I read an article on page 14 entitled,

AIDS risk lower than thought for circumcised

Maybe it got better play in the New York Times, where the story by Donald G. McNeil Jr.originated, but page 14 in the Tribune struck me as not good enough.

Especially when put into juxtaposition with the coverage given Merck’s “Gardisil” HPV inoculations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which I have been calling the Centers for the Spread of Disease since about 1989, say that vaccinated will be protected against 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, still somehow director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, is quoted in the story thusly,

If we had an AIDS vaccine that was performing as well as this, it would be the talk of the town.

What’s the news you probably haven’t read?

Circumcision reduces a man’s risk (of becoming HIV-infected) by as much as 65%

Seems like the Bible has some good advice quite early on.

Labels: AIDS. Anthony Fauci, Bible, CDC, circumcision, HIV, HPV