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Based on extensive consultations with people living with HIV, HIV organizations, service providers, women’s rights advocates, scientific experts and others, the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization (CCRHC) will release a new Community Consensus Statement tomorrow (Friday, July 29, 2022) at the International AIDS Conference in Montreal. The HIV Legal Network is a founding member of the CCRHC, which includes people living with HIV, community organizations, lawyers, researchers, and others. The Coalition was formed in October 2016 and works to […]
Read more →July 27, 2022 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada The Government of Canada is unwavering in its commitment to ensuring that our criminal justice system keeps communities safe, supports victims, and holds offenders to account, while respecting Charter rights. As part of the pre-conference activities of the International AIDS Conference 2022, the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, met with stakeholders and today announced upcoming consultations on the criminal justice response to HIV […]
Read more →Monkeypox virus (strain Zaire 77-0666) Callithrix jacchus orthopoxvirus MPXV (Monkeypox) is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It enters the body through broken skin (even if not visible), the respiratory tract or the eyes, nose, or mouth. Confirmed cases in BC: 32 (July 18, 2022)Health authorities with cases: (British Columbia) Vancouver Coastal HealthVancouver Island Health Authority MPXV can spread from animals to humans, from person to person and through contaminated objects. MPXV is mostly spread through contact with sores or […]
Read more →Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH) Emergency Department patients from ages 18 to 70 years will automatically receive an HIV test while getting other bloodwork done From May 2nd, 2022 to October 31, 2022, all Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH) Emergency Department patients from ages 18 to 70 years will automatically receive an HIV test while getting other bloodwork done. Why? Simply, the only way to know if you have HIV is to be tested. This initiative follows the HIV testing guidelines for B.C. which […]
Read more →Wishing you Happy, Safe and Healthy HolidaysFrom all of us at VPWAS VPWAS Office and Drop-in Lounge will be closed from December 24th to January 3rd 2022(reopening Monday January 3, 2022)
Read more →Understanding and Optimizing the Role of Rural Peer Navigation Health Models in a Pandemic Announcing the launch of Stamina Not Stigma, an important community health project for BC’s Southern Gulf Islands region. Drawing on experiences of a diverse group of islanders who supported each other through the worst days of the AIDS pandemic and evolved with the changing realities of living with HIV, the premise of Stamina Not Stigma is to affirm wellness strategies, spotlight the role of peers as community health navigators & educators, […]
Read more →Eligibility 3rd Dose COVID19 Vaccination All people living in British Columbia who are 12 years and older are eligible to get a vaccine. A third dose of COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for some people who are moderate to severely immunocompromised. People who are moderately to severely immunocompromised should receive a third dose of vaccine. The group includes: For the full list visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/covid-19-vaccine/vaccine-registration-eligibility Prior AIDS defining illness or CD4 count ≤ 200/mm3 or CD4 fraction ≤ 15% or detectable plasma viral load […]
Read more →Save the Date and join us on October 20, 2021 at 6pm via ZOOM! Vancouver Island PWA Society (VPWAS) Annual General Meeting for 2020 Once again this year our AGM will be hosted via ZOOM! Please email support@vpwas.org to RSVP or call 250.382.7927 / 1.877.382.7927 We will be joined by guest speaker Rick Waines, playwright (Secret/e). Rick will speak to his latest project, a verbatim play based on the interviews from HIV in My Day: Reflecting Back, Looking Forward, oral […]
Read more →September 29, 2021 The federal government has declared September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day recognizes the colonial legacy of residential schools, honours Indigenous survivors, and is part of the ongoing reconciliation process, while acknowledging the harm that was done to Indigenous peoples by Canada’s residential schools and the ongoing impacts and intergenerational trauma that are felt by Indigenous communities to this day. “The BC Government has communicated the importance of honouring a Day for […]
Read more →The purpose of this study is to deepen understandings of how experiences during the pre-treatment HIV period (i.e. approximately 1981-1996) – including clinical encounters, grief and loss, and sustained discrimination – have informed current perspectives of quality of life (QOL) and strategies to enhance well-being in the context of aging. Ultimately, the findings will contribute to meaningfully supporting the psychosocial well-being of older gay men.
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