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An emergency rule from the Florida Department of Health went into effect on Sunday that could restrict tens of thousands of people from accessing HIV medication. The state issued cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), a federal-state partnership that provides free FDA-approved HIV medication for low-income, uninsured or underinsured people. Under the emergency rule, eligibility for ADAP was lowered to include those at or below 130% of the federal poverty level, which equals about $20,345 per year for a one-person household, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (Kekatos, 3/1)

An estimated one in 12 U.S. adolescents with early syphilis also have HIV in a national surveillance sample, but the burden of co-occurring syphilis and HIV in teens is decreasing, according to a study. (Haelle, 3/1)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Denmark for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV and syphilis, recognizing the country's sustained commitment to ensuring every child is born free of these infections. “The elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis marks a major public health achievement for Denmark,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. (2/26)

In a clinic in Cape Town earlier this year, a woman rolled up her sleeve and became the first person enrolled in what is one of the most consequential HIV treatment trials ever attempted on African soil. The researchers watching had spent the better part of a year wondering if this moment would ever come. Fourteen months earlier, the programme – known as BRILLIANT 011 and is the flagship of an Africa-led consortium of scientists researching a potential HIV vaccine – had been days from launch when a stop-work order arrived from Washington. (Hagan, 3/2)

More health and wellness news —

The vast majority of organ donations once came from people who were brain-dead. Now they’re increasingly coming from people who died when their heart stopped beating, a major shift that can boost transplants but also raises public confusion, researchers reported Thursday. What’s called donation after circulatory death, or DCD, jumped dramatically in a short period: It accounted for 49% of all deceased donors in the U.S. last year, up from 2% in 2000. (Neergaard, 2/26)

With springlike warmth returning to the Bay Area, people may be stocking up on sunscreen — and new research suggests cheaper may actually be better. A year’s worth of sunscreen can cost as little as $40 or as much as $1,400, according to a new study from UCSF dermatologists that encourages consumers to get inexpensive sunscreen — which may prompt people to use more of it. (Ho, 2/28)