Researchers have been working to develop a safe, effective HIV vaccine since the 1980s, and one may be on the horizon with continuing support from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, drugmakers and academic institutions. Trials of at least three different vaccine candidates are underway.

The application of technology, not the technology itself, is disrupting military and veterans' health IT by reducing disruptions elsewhere along the care delivery continuum, such as by streamlining care coordination through integrated electronic health records and by minimizing interruptions for clinicians, says Neil Evans, connected care officer at the Veterans Health Agency. "Technology itself is not disruptive. It is the application of technology to impact people's lives that actually matters," Evans said.

Two California congressmen sent a letter to the White House critical of the Trump administration's move to decline to add bladder cancer, Parkinson's disease-like symptoms, hypothyroidsism or hypertension to the list of conditions that are tied to Agent Orange exposure. The VA is awaiting two studies on Agent Orange exposure before making further coverage decisions, says VA spokeswoman Christina Mandreucci.

Veterans, active-duty troops and first responders dealing with trauma and chronic pain are finding some relief using virtual reality through a program at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, Fla. Patients put on headsets and are transported to environments that help them relax.

Thirty-seven percent of US adults have no plans to be vaccinated against influenza this season because they worry about the side effects, they think the vaccine is ineffective or they mistakenly think they might get the flu from the vaccine itself, according to a survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. The CDC recommends annual vaccines for those 6 months and older, and as of early last month, 44% percent of adults said they had gotten the vaccine, and 18% had plans to do so.

A retrospective cohort study of individuals who initiated pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV through the Veterans Health Administration between July 2012 and April 2016 documented six infections among 825 patients. Findings published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes suggested most such cases of infections were linked to the inconsistent use of PrEP.

This week AMSUS is holding its 128th Annual Meeting at the Gaylord National Resort & Conference Center. The meeting is made possible in large part due to the generous support of the AMSUS Executive Advisory Board (EAB) members and Annual Meeting sponsors. Without their support, AMSUS would not be able to provide an affordable, high-quality continuing education program for federal health professionals, our international partners, and our corporate stakeholders.
The AMSUS EAB is comprised of industry leaders who partner together to provide a think tank for the federal health sector and a platform for federal-civilian networking and communications. Their participation in and support of AMSUS- especially in providing leadership through education- is invaluable. AMSUS EAB members are: Express Scripts, GE Healthcare, Health Net Federal Services, Humana Military, Integra LifeSciences, Intuitive Surgical, Philips and UCB.
Sponsors for this year's Annual Meeting are: 3M, Alkermes, ASM Research, Foundation Medicine, International SOS, IT Cadre, Kaiser Permanente, the Mayo Clinic, Portola, Sanford Health, US WorldMeds and Government Matters. Thank You 2019 Sponsors and Awards Banquet Supporters Lehigh Valley Health Network and Taiho Oncology.