Today is World AIDS Day. We have Red iPods at the Apple Store to fund badly needed HIV initiatives in poor countries. However it seems the color Red causes nearsightedness. We forget that HIV is still a plague in America. We forget that poor Americans without health care still die of “Old AIDS” complete with PCP pneumonia, Karpi Sarcoma and all those horrific retro opportunistic infections. We forget that there are poor children who are unknowingly born with HIV in the United States but do not get diagnosed until they become symptomatic. These children do not respond to modern HIV medications and will die as if they weren’t taking any drugs at all.
Most importantly we forget that gay men, men who have sex with men or whatever you want to call them are still at a higher risk of infection than any heterosexual group. We still comprise a majority of the total cases of HIV reported.
HIV is still devastating the gay community whether we ignore it or put our painful memories of the 80′s and 90′s behind us.
As politically incorrect and unempowering as the truth is, the AIDS Cocktail is not like insulin for diabetics.. Why do we use the euphemism “cocktail”? Real cocktails are fun to drink and taste good. These are powerful chemotherapy that have crappy side effects, potential drug resistance, a high cost that burns up your maximum health insurance pay-out and the prospect of having to take toxic drugs daily for the rest of your life-is not a chronically manageable picnic. I call these drugs toxic not as an advocate of herbs or naysayer of their medicinal value. I say toxic to speak honestly to what chemotherapy really does, it poisons a virus or cancerous cells. If they weren’t poisons they wouldn’t work. HIV Anti Virals may be a godsend to my generation but these poisonous chemicals are something I wish on no gay 20 year old.
Longterm HIV survivors on anti-virals have a nearly undetectable viral load. However we are now learning that they are showing signs of dementia, bone loss and other symptoms of drastically premature aging.
We need far more than better ways of administering the current anti-viral cocktail strategy.
In 2009 we have a Democrat in the White House. We also have a Democratic majority in Congress. President Obama has promised to make ending the AIDS Crisis a priority.
Now is the time for the LGBT community to once again DEMAND A CURE.
Experts said the Apollo program with it’s short deadlines was doomed to failure. Polio and syphilis were once as devastating as AIDS and their cure seemed out of reach.
Our nation will never reach a goal unless we commit to achieving it first. A cure is possible. Research plateaus are temporary. That is unless you stop trying.
Recession, depression or economic boom, money spent on the basic science needed to unlock a cure will save billions of lives and billions of dollars worldwide.
As President Obama and our House and Senate members ask us what we want for Christmas, let’s dust off our old LGBT wish list and DEMAND ACURE FOR AIDS.
Jon Winkleman
jonwinkleman@mac.com
