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Long-Acting Injectable HIV Medication Finally Available for Treatment

Darrell Ferrell, a 60-year-old African American substance abuse counselor who was diagnosed with HIV in September 1991, is considered a long-term survivor. Ferrell will be the first patient to receive the monthly injectable at his Lifelong clinic, in Oakland.

Published

2 years ago

November 24, 2021

Oakland Post

Darrell Ferrell is happy to give up his pill burden of taking medication every day for a monthly injection.

By Jesse Brooks

Imagine having to take five to nine pills a day to live. Imagine side effects of nausea, diarrhea and then being offered more medication to counteract those side effects.

That was the life of people living with HIV in the early days of HIV treatment almost 30 years ago. Treatment and attitudes have changed a lot over those years.

Gone is the stigma that came with the disease for many as well as the omnipresent pill containers, or even the constant burden of having to take medication daily. What was unimaginable then is reality now — taking an injection once a month to control the disease.

A revolutionary game changer of a long-acting injectable HIV medication is finally available for treatment. The treatment, a combination of two drugs, will be administered by a healthcare provider once a month. Already approved and used in Europe beginning in October 2020, the treatment was approved in the U.S. in January 2021.

‘Adherent treatment’ has been the key for persons to reach viral suppression, rendering them practically incapable of transmitting HIV through sex. (Sex without barriers is the highest transmission route of HIV.)

The concept is called U = U, Undetectable equals Untransmittable. It all leads to fewer people spreading HIV, helping to get to a global goal of no new transmissions.

Although the injectable treatment is not for every person living with HIV, it is the answer for so many who struggle with adherence which can lead to a possibility of becoming resistant to the medication and failed treatment, thus unable to control their HIV replication.

Ferrell says he was prescribed medication immediately upon his initial diagnosis in 1991, but at the time was in denial and afraid as he saw others take the early regimens and still die.

In later years, he started a regimen but didn’t always adhere to it, and at one time became resistant to the medication he was taking. He eventually started a different regimen of one pill a day, but always was challenged with staying adherent.

“About six months ago, my physician, Dr. Ortiz, approached me,” Ferrell said. Ortiz was concerned about Ferrell’s struggle with adherence. “Because of my confidence in my doctor, I said ‘yes’ to the injection regimen.”

For 28 days, he had to take the medication orally and received his first injection early this month. “The only side effects I had was some anxiety and soreness at the injection site that has since gone away,” Ferrell said. He looks forward to a life of taking fewer pills for his health, since he lives with other co-morbidities that require medication. The worry of adhering to HIV regimen is now gone.

If you live with HIV and are having challenges, talk to your care provider. Take the pill burden away and live until there’s a cure.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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3 days ago

April 26, 2024

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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April 19, 2024

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Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”