North Carolina will clear ADAP waiting list

Officials at the North Carolina health department on Thursday announced that new funding will allow them to begin providing anti-HIV drugs to all 960 people on the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting list, the Charlotte Observer reports. State lawmakers recently appropriated an additional $2.75 million for the program, and the state also will use some of the $20 million in federal money President Bush granted to the programs in July. The first 585 people on the waiting list will begin receiving anti-HIV drugs in September, while the remainder will start receiving medications late in the fall, says Steve Sherman, ADAP coordinator for the state.