Etc. – Things We Didn’t Talk About Today But Thought You Should Know
Well, well, well, so many news items, so little time. Let’s just get to getting ….
Rihanna CANCELS Madrid CONCERT, Heads Homes to Be With Mom After Grandmother’s DEATH – Prayers to Rihanna and her family. {theYBF}
Mindless Behavior Apologizes for Lauryn Hill Joke at the BET Awards – Welp. So much for that. The kid apologized and the folks over at BET stayed mum. Fair? {NecoleBitchie}
Officials, Stars, and Fans React to the Death of Andy Griffith – Andy Griffith, the man behind Mayberry and Matlock, died this morning at the age of 86. RIP. {CNN}
Serena Ousts Kvitova to Reach Semifinals at Wimbledon – Serena is holding the Williams sisters down at this year’s Wimbledon. Let’s hope she brings home another title! {USA Today}
FDA Clears First Over-the-Counter, Rapid Test for the Virus That Causes AIDS – Great news in the fight against HIV/AIDS: The FDA approved the first over-the-counter rapid HIV test, which will allow people to check their status at home. {Washington Post}
4G Service Reaches Africa Before Much of Europe – Africa is definitely on the rise, and so is its phone service. {theGrio}
Rohan Marley Postpones Marriage to Brazilian Model Isabeli Fontana – Well, so much for that. Apparently, the wedding is off. {theGrio}
Oh miii gosh!! One can carry out an HIV test at home. Do you know how DANGEROUS that is from a psychological standpoint. What about counselling before testing. HIV is not just any other disease, it can lead to severe initial reactions, eg. suicide!!
I don’t think HIV is the “death sentence” it once was, and I have to believe more people are aware of that than before.
I would also venture to say a large percentage of the people who aren’t ready to hear the diagnosis from a physician wouldn’t be ready to take the test at home either. I think this is an opportunity for the people who know they should get tested routinely, but find excuses not to make it to a clinic, to run to their local pharmacy and pick one up as casually as they would a pregnancy test, and consult a physician/call the hotline if necessary.
Plus, from reading the article, if there was a danger to be concerned with, it most certainly has to be that of false negatives (the test is only 92% accurate in identifying HIV positive test subjects, compared to 99.9% accurate in identifying HIV negative test subjects), which means 1/12 people who take this test might forgo retesting 3-6 months later because of a false sense of security from a negative result.