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A28 u.s. news
Diabierna 9 September 2022

US may expand monkeypox vaccine eligibility to men with HIV

Press on Thursday that he port suggested infections in
expected vaccine recommen- people with HIV and other Brooks said the findings
dations to expand and that STDs may be a bigger issue could lead to vaccines being
"the White House, together then previously realized. recommended for people
with CDC, are working on with recent STD infections,
a plan for what that will look The report looked at about people with HIV, people tak-
like." 2,000 monkeypox cases from ing pre-exposure prophylaxis
four states and four cities (PrEP) medications to pre-
Currently, the CDC recom- from mid-May to late July. vent HIV infection and, pos-
mends the vaccine to people sibly, prostitutes.
who are a close contact of It found 38% of those with
someone who has monkey- monkeypox infections had Discussions of expanding
pox; people who know a been diagnosed with HIV, far eligibility will have to take
sexual partner was diagnosed higher than their share of the into account supply of the
in the past two weeks; and population among men who two-dose vaccine. And any
gay or bisexual men who had have sex with men. substantial expansion of
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. expected share of monkey- multiple sexual partners in monkeypox vaccination rec-
officials are considering pox infections are in people the last two weeks in an area The study also found that ommendations may also be
broadening recommenda- with other sexually transmit- with known virus spread. 41% of monkeypox patients subject to review by CDC's
tions for who gets vacci- ted infections. had been diagnosed with an outside vaccine advisers,
nated against monkeypox, Shots are also recommended STD in the preceding year. health officials say.
possibly to include many Dr. John T. Brooks, chief for health care workers at And about 10% of those pa-
men with HIV or those medical officer for the Cen- high risk of exposure. tients had been diagnosed Also on Thursday, the CDC
recently diagnosed with ters for Disease Control and with three or more different sent a letter to state and lo-
other sexually transmitted Prevention's monkeypox The vast majority of mon- STDs in the prior year. cal health departments that
diseases. outbreak response, said the keypox cases are in men who said federal funds for HIV
report represents a "call to ac- have sex with men who re- The study has several limita- and STD prevention can also
Driving the discussion is tion." ported close contact with tions, including that the data now be used against monkey-
a study released Thursday an infected person during may not be nationally repre- pox. Cases in the U.S. seem
showing that a higher-than- Brooks told The Associated sex. But the new CDC re- sentative, the authors said. to be declining, officials say.

Freed prisoner seeks compensation for tossed rape verdict

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — victim nor Alexander. Innocence Project New Or-
A Louisiana man impris- leans.
oned for nearly four de- Although Alexander was
cades until conviction in a freed with agreement from Alexander was freed and
1979 rape was thrown out prosecutors, a state judge lat- prosecutors agreed not to
in 2018 is now fighting for er ruled that Alexander wasn't pursue the case in 2018 af-
compensation for being eligible for money from the ter defense lawyers argued
wrongfully convicted. state innocence compensa- that Alexander's lawyer at
tion fund. The judge said the his 1980 trial failed to point
The Times-Picayune/The evidence that resulted in his out that the victim had been
New Orleans Advocate re- conviction being thrown out doubtful when she identified
ports that attorneys for Mal- didn't reach the level of proof Alexander as her attacker in
colm Alexander took his ar- needed to establish "factual 1979.
gument for compensation innocence."
to a state appeals court on DNA evidence consisted of
Thursday. A ruling in Alexander's favor pubic hairs gathered from
from the Louisiana 5th Cir- the crime scene, a bathroom
Alexander, 62, was freed af- cuit Court of Appeal would in the victim's retail business.
ter attorneys successfully ar- entitle him to $400,000 — DNA testing later showed
gued that he had ineffective $40,000 for each year of the hairs matched each other granted every wrongful con- "I just need people to realize
trial lawyers. The defense wrongful imprisonment, but did not belong to the vic- viction compensation claim that I'm innocent," Alexander
also showed that DNA from capped at 10 years, accord- tim or Alexander. that has been based, in part, said. "Receiving the compen-
evidence collected at the rape ing to Alexander's attorney, on DNA evidence. sation will cap it off in saying,
scene matched neither the Zachary Crawford of the Crawford said Louisiana has 'All right, we apologize fully.'"

Oil company pleads guilty in Southern California spill

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — water pipeline ruptured last year, million in expenses incurred by agen- to potential leaks. Federal authorities
An oil company pleaded guilty a federal official said. cies including the U.S. Coast Guard said the company and its subsidiaries
Thursday to negligently dis- after Amplify's pipeline broke off the failed to respond to eight leak detec-
charging crude off the Southern Houston-based Amplify Energy and Orange County coast, spilling about tion alarms over a 13-hour period
California coast when its under- two of its subsidiaries each plead- 25,000 gallons (94,600 liters) of oil that should have alerted workers to
ed guilty to a misdemeanor charge into the Pacific Ocean. The rupture the October 2021 spill.
in federal court on Thursday, said shuttered beaches for a week and
Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the fisheries for more than a month, oiled Amplify contends that two ships
U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles. birds and threatened local wetlands. dragged their anchors across the pipe-
line and damaged it during a January
The companies are expected to be In the plea agreement, Amplify also 2021 storm, but the company wasn't
sentenced later in the day, he said. agreed to install a new leak detec- notified about the dragging until after
tion system for the pipeline that fer- the spill. Without this damage, Am-
The plea comes after the companies ried crude from offshore platforms to plify has argued that the spill would
agreed with federal prosecutors to the coast. They also said they'd train not have happened.
pay a $7 million fine and nearly $6 employees to identify and respond