CABLE POSITIVE AWARDS $50,000 GRANT TO AIDS RESEARCH CENTER AT MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL

CONTACT: Nancy Schadoff (212) 459.1505 nancy@cablepositive.org

NEW YORK, NY - July 24, 2000
Cable Positive, the cable and communications industry's AIDS action organization, awarded a $50,000 grant to the AIDS Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA toward funding the research efforts of Dr. Philip J. Norris to develop a vaccine to fight HIV. Dr. Norris and associates are working toward developing T-cell responses to HIV and new drug therapies, and are conducting studies relating to immune systems and an HIV vaccine.

At a recent Board of Directors meeting in Boston, Dr. Norris had a chance to thank Cable Positive and presented the Board with a look at the changing face of AIDS, including a briefing on his recent trip to attend the International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, where HIV infection rates are increasing in disproportionate numbers in comparison to the United States.

In the United States, the most at-risk populations include African-Americans, Hispanics, women, youth, and young gay men. Dr. Norris encouraged Cable Positive to continue to educate these most at-risk populations. "Even though there has been scientific progress we are still years away from a cure," he said. "Prevention is the only proven method of controlling the virus due to the unknown long-term efficacy of the current drug therapies."

Cable Positive is a national non-profit organization that was founded in February 1992 by three concerned cable executives with the mission of organizing cable's resources in the fight against AIDS. Cable Positive is dedicated to unifying the talents, resources, access and influence of the communications industry to raise AIDS awareness; to fund AIDS education, research and care; and to promote a more compassionate climate for people whose lives have been affected by HIV and AIDS. Cable Positive has grown to include supporters from every major cable network, MSO, system, hardware manufacturer, trade association, media publication, and affiliated industry vendors and suppliers. For more information about Cable Positive, call 212.459.1502 or visit www.cablepositive.org.