“It’s kind of terrifying how little has changed:” Reflecting on two pandemics faced by the Black & LGBTQ communities

This June marks the 50th anniversary of the first Pride parade, which arose in protest against police brutality and for the rights of LGBTQ people. Health equity has always been an indispensable part of that struggle.
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The pandemics are ongoing, while access and treatment reflect health disparities

Both pandemics are still ongoing.

“A lot of people think that because PrEP is a reality, the HIV pandemic is over,” said Clapp, referring to the treatment-as-prevention drug regimen that can arrest the spread of HIV. “But there are still new transmissions. There are still people who are living with untreated HIV. We’re on a good path, but we still continue to struggle to get PrEP and other resources into the hands of our most marginalized, which typically include people of color and trans people of color.”

COVID-19 may even worsen the ongoing HIV crisis.

“I’m worried we’re going to see a lot of people fall out of HIV care and really start to undo the progress that we’ve made,” said Derrick Matthews. “So much of health insurance is tied to employment, and we know that people of color were among the ones to lose their jobs the most.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below

Laboratory Order Forms

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