HIV positive patients shouldn’t pass on their flu shots, according to recent studies that emphasize the importance of influenza and measles vaccinations for HIV positive patients. In one study of 51,021 HIV positive people, researchers found that people taking antiretroviral drugs were more likely to receive the influenza vaccine, while people with higher viral loads and lower CD4 cell counts were less likely to be immunized.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."