As of last Friday, 100 million vaccine shots had been administered across the country. On Thursday, President Biden announced a new goal: 200 million shots by April 30 and his desire to have a celebration by July 4th. In California, some 27% of people have received at least one dose, with nearly 400,000 shots administered a day. The massive effort to inoculate the nation is in full swing.
NBA legend and businessman, Earvin "Magic" Johnson received his coronavirus vaccine Wednesday at an event at the University of Southern California, according to his personal Twitter page. Johnson got vaccinated alongside long-time friends actor, comedian and host Arsenio Hall and actor Danny Trejo.
The Lansing-born NBA point-guard legend who is HIV positive had this to say when he got vaccinated:
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“I am so happy to be here with Danny and my 40-year friend Arsenio Hall to take this vaccination because it’s so important. I’ve been doing everything the right way, wearing my mask, cleaning my hands all the time, I’ve been taking a COVID-19 test seems like every two weeks,” said Johnson, who received the Pfizer vaccine.
“We got to do this cause we got to get back to normal and this is the only path to it, by the way, Donald J. Trump and Barack Obama both got this,” said Hall. “They don’t agree on nothing, but they’ve both got vaccines. So, God bless you all stay safe and let’s do this.”
Johnson received the Pfizer vaccine, while Trejo received Moderna’s and Hall received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
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Johnson, Trejo and Hall, dubbed the “New L.A. Dream Team’' by Garcetti.
Many know Magic for his years in the NBA or his incredible business work with Starbucks, movie theaters and other business ventures. But many also know about Magic's open battle with HIV.
Many don't know that the breakthroughs against COVID have come in part from the research done on HIV.
As Magic has an "un-detectable" level of HIV, the general public wonders what does that really mean? An HIV-positive person can achieve undetectable levels after undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART). A level of a person’s HIV viral load is what causes them to be more or less likely to transmit the disease. An undetectable viral load reduces the likelihood of transmission by 100 percent. Once a person achieves an undetectable status, it is possible to remain at this level provided that the person is compliant with their ART medication.
On Sirius XM, Johnson explained the details of his health, saying that he is not healthy because of his wealth nor because he consumed a specially concocted drug that cured his disease, as many have surmised. In fact, the Hall of Famer explained that he takes the same drugs that other folks battling the virus take as well as a cocktail of three of them every day after dinner.
The 6’9″ L.A. Dodgers owner wanted to make clear that he still has the virus but it is in a dormant state, telling the radio show host Renada Romain, “I do have it and have had it for 22 years. It’s just laying asleep in my body.”
The virus that causes AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 32 million people worldwide since the 1980s. Scientists are continuing their research and creating new initiatives to develop a vaccine to overcome this scourge.
The state of HIV research has benefitted coronavirus research, she added. “Vaccine strategies that were tested for HIV and did not work are being used for Covid-19 vaccines, including the adenovirus vaccine (used by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson).
“There are interactions and lessons to be learned on both sides.”
The subject of a vaccine strategy has mobilized research since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, Bruck-Landais said, mentioning “many failures, and vaccine projects or vaccination strategies that have since evolved thanks to our greater knowledge of the virus and the immune system”.
