History, Facts, and Where Do We Go From Here?
World Aids Day
Thank you to Peter Tortorello for compiling this information and sharing it with us. Thanks also to Brett Maccani for Sunday’s service and these links for more information and to get involved:
- The Human Rights Campaign www.hrc.org
- The Ryan White HIV/AIDS program www.ryanwhite.hrsa.gov
We Will Survive—A Perspective on the AIDS Crisis
In 1988 with the support of WHO – December 1
Over 200,000 people infected in US with 50% death rate
The US Government had not cared, and Action was needed
Together the Gay Community pulled together to care for the dying, to support
those infected, to educate the community on their own.
ACT-UP formed by Larry Kramer – Moto: SILENCE = DEATH
THE BATTLE WAS ON
Historical Perspective – The Crisis
1981 – NYT Article – Time Article – GRID – LA – pneumocystis pneumonia; NYC
– Kaposi Sarcoma
Living in Houston – Christmas Party at Rich and David’s
Tom Klein – Michigan State Med Grad at St. Joseph Resident
Gay Crisis Lines set up in NYC, LA, Chicago – Friends manned the lines
HIV identified by French in 1983 – Battle with Americans in 1984 for rights
1985 – Reagan mentioned AIDS for first time – No Action – 175,000 US infected
– 50% Death Rate
Blood Supply – Dr. Anthony Fauci – Testing – Hemophiliacs death – Ryan White
Isolation: Houston Civic Hospital – Louie Welsh – Lock up and Kill the Queers
Actions Needed
Clive Jones – AIDS Memorial Quilt – 1940 Panels on Ellipse – Bob and I
attended
CDC FIRST PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
40 Friends and Acquaintances Died – Half of our closest friends – Gary was the
first a national consultant on Health Care – Jerry, Danny, Greg, Ted, John, and so
many
1988 Reagan signed first NIH Authorization for research
AZT in 1988 – Battle to get it – Martin Delaney and others pleaded with Dr. Fauci
of NIH and FDA to release drug before tests completed
Horrific side effects but saved lives – Black Market
Reagan’s plan: Ban all HIV+ including AIDS Conference attendees
RED Ribbon Project – Ed Grey and Jim Scott – Michigan Artists $100,000
Local Programs to care for sick and dying like Chicago House
Lost Friends
Grew Up on NW side of Chicago – Cub/Boy Scouts – Gay Friends
Rick, Frank, Al, Larry, Vic, Randy, and so many others passed. Read the death
notices
Government and Independent Funding
Clinton – WHJ Office of National AIDS Policy
T-Cells to 200 -rather than death – to get into National Protections including
Medicare
500,000 cases in 1995
Quilt on National Mall – 40,000 panels
Sutter Medical Center – Early prophylactic therapy in 1980’s – Not approved by
FDA until 1997 – Push by Community intervention with Fauci
WHO – 1999 33 million Worldwide Cases – 14 million Deaths – Pharma
programs
African life expectancy – 62 to 47
Gates: $60 Million in 2003 – First Private Sector
Bush approved first major funding in 2007 – $48 Bil – j565,000 US Deaths
Obama approved $63 Bil, ACA allowed for HIV/AIDS care
2017 – Gates: $148 mil, Elton: $385 Mil for education, direct care
2020 – Death Rate dropped by 50%
Biden/Harris White House – Government Makes a difference
PrEP drugs made widely available to prevent infections
195 National Heal Center Establish to test, educate, offer PrEP and care
DOD drops HIV+ ban
Youth support programs to protect GLBTQ+ Youth and Transgender
Long-term injection Drugs available
Long-Term survivors Programs – Drugs worked, many side effects for survivors
Where do we go now without Clinton, Obama, and Biden Programs
Education of youth, minorities, and developing countries
PrEP costs $1500/month – Need to subsidize
Support local testing & care programs like CARES in SW Michigan
Elder Care – Center on Halsted
COVID-19 rapid response came out of HIV/AIDS research – Vaccinations and
Prophylactic drugs
Government Commitment to CDC, NIH, FDA
An Historical Perspective – 1981 to 2023
1981
– Pneumocystis pneumonia in Los Angeles – 5 gay men
– Kaposi Sarcoma in New York – Gay Cancer
– Opportunist Infections due to suppressed immune system – T-Cells
– First person in country in Los Angelos admitted for AIDS
1981
- Gay Men’s Health Crisis, first of type, founded in NYC
- First Congressional Hearing
- GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency)
- CDC officially defines AIDS – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
- Congress passes first funding allocation for AIDS research
- SF Activists public first pamphlet on “Safer Sex”
1983 - NIH looks at National Blood Supply
- CDC announces that cases are among gay men with multiple partners, IV Drug
users and Haitians - Larry Kramer publishes essay on impact of AIDS on Gay community
- SF first candlelight vigil
- French research share Nobel Prize for discovering retrovirus that may cause
AIDS
1984 - U.S Department of Health Rober Gallo announces that a retrovirus causes AIDS
- The first HTLV-III tests diagnosis of AIDS
- SF Bathhouses closed
1985 - The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer opens on Broadway
- Rock Hudson announces that he has AIDS
- Ryan White, teenager hemophilia patient, contacts AIDS through blood
transfusion - LA Times Survey finds that most Americans want to quarantine AIDS patients
- US military start AIDS testing
- President Reagan mentions AIDS for first time
1986
- CDC announces that AIDS cases up by 89% and over 50% of identified patients
have died - Surgeon General announces that AIDS transmitted by intimate relationships
- HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) causes AIDS
- National Academy of Science estimates that it will take $2 billion on research and
patient care over the next 3 years
1987 - Cleve Jones crest first panel of the AIDS Memorial Quilt
- US bans all people with HIV or AIDS from entering the USA
- Reagan makes his first public speech on AIDS creating a commission
- Liberace dies at 67 of AIDS
- DeSoto County Board of Education bans three hemophiliac brothers with AIDS
- Larry Krammer in NYC founds AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) to
create Public Awareness - FDA sanctions first efforts to test vaccine
- CDC launches first public service announcement to kick off AIDS Awareness
- AZT is first antiretroviral drug, initially used for cancer treatment, is made
available for HIV - FDA accelerates the release of other drugs to 3 years
- ACT-UP protests on Wall Street to accelerate the release of drugs immediately
- AIDS Memorial Quilt is displayed on National Mall with 1920 panels
- United Nations holds first effort to deal with AIDS with WHO to lead
- Battle between French and US government as to who discovered the existence
of HIV retrovirus would be shared. An international political panel - Princess Di makes international news by shaking hands with HIV-positive patient
in a London Hospital
1988 - Ryan White testifies about the stigma of AIDS before the President’s Commission
on AIDS - Reagan signs first authorization for NIH to do AIDS research, clinical trials, and
preventative education - ACT-UP sit-in at FDA to accelerate release of experimental drugs for
compassionate use - FDA approves use of experimental drugs for compassionate use
- Worlds AIDS Day, December 1, officially make established
- A needle exchange is established
- Multiple high-profile individuals die of AIDS
1989
- Fauci of National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) endorse
giving HIV-Positive people experimental drugs who are not in a clinical trail - US Congress creates National Commission on AIDS, meeting for the first time in
September 1989 - CDC approves $11 million for seven community health centers to provide HIV
counseling - The number of AIDS cases in the United States reaches 100,000
1990 - Ryan White passes
- ACT-UP again protests at NIH for more treatments for HIV people
- World AIDS Conferences meet in SF protesting restrictions on entry of HIV
people into the United States - AIDS counseling services areas approved
- FDA approves AZT for use in adults and children
1991 - AIDS Artists Caucus launches the Red Ribbon Project
- Launch of Community-Based Clinical Trials Programs Act to analyze the
effectiveness of HIV treatments - HUD approves housing assistance for people living with AIDS
- Magic Johnson announces that he is HIV positive
- Freddie Mercury dies of AIDS
1992 - International AIDS Conference scheduled for Boston is moved to Amsterdam
because of USA restrictions allowing entry of people with HIV/AIDS - AIDS becomes the number one cause of death for US men between 25 to 44
- First quick HIV test is approved by FDA for professional use
- Ricky Ray, a teen hemophiliac, dies of AIDS sparking a national conversation
1993
- Clinton is elected. Establishes White House Office of National AIDS policy
- Woman and IV drug users cases of HIV explodes
- Rudolf Nureyev and Arthur Ashe die of AIDS
- Research on the impact of women with AIDS is expanded by NIH
- Restrictions on HIV/AIDS foreign visitors is codified by Congress
- AIDS definition is expanded to include HIV positive people with less than 200
CD4 t-Cells
1994 - And The Band Plays On, US journalist, author of And the Band Plays On dies at
42 - US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes first Guidelines
for Preventing Transmission of HIV through Transplantation of Human Tissues
and Organs - NIH requires all grants to HIV research and treatment to include women and
minorities - AZT is approved for pregnant women to prevent transfer to infants
1995 - FDA approves first protease inhibitor drugs
- First National HIV Testing Day Program is launched
- CDC issues first guidelines to prevent opportunistic infections in people with HIV
- Clints hosts first White House Conference on HIV/AIDS
- 500,000 cases of AIDS reported in USA
1996 - 11 th Internation AIDS Conference highlights effective of newer antiretroviral
therapy - Number of new AIDS cases declines for fist time since the beginning of epidemic
- AIDS Memorial Quilt in its entirety for first time in National Mall, the entire
distance from the Capitol to the Washington Memorial - AIDS is no longer leading cause of death for people between 25 and 44 although
it is the leading cause of deaths in the African American community in this age
group - Dr. David HO promotes a new approach to dealing with HIV/AIDS to aggressively
treating HIV-positive persons with aggressive early treatment, rather than treating
the later stages - UNAIDS begins the global treatment of HIV/AIDS
- FDA approves test kits to measure VIRAL load of HIV in blood
- The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative forms to speed up HIV vaccine research
- First non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor drug is released, a new class
of antiviral drugs
1998
- CDC announces that 49% of AIDS cases are African American – 10 times
Whites and three times Hispanic - CDC issues first national treatment guides for use of antiretroviral therapy in
adults in adolescents - Call for Action by Congressional Black Caucus to provide assistance in the
African American Community - The Supreme Court approves the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers
people with early stages of HIV disease - Clinton declares that AIDS is a severe and on-going health crisis in African
American and Hispanic communities - Hemophilia and other clotting disordered diagnosed with HIV receive assistance
- Congress passes $156 million to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS in minority
communities
1999 - World Health Organization (WHO) announces that HIV/AIDS is fourth biggest
killer worldwide and number one in Africa - Clinton announces formation of LIFE initiative to address the global HIV epidemic
- Thirty-three million people are living with HIV worldwide
- Fourteen million died of AIDS worldwide
- First National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is launched as a grass-roots
education effort - CDC expands surveillance guidelines for tracking HV/AIDS
2000 - UN meets to discuss impact of AIDS in Africa
- G-8 releases statement on impact of HIV/AIDS globally
- Clinton announces Millennium Vaccine Initiative to develop and distribute
vaccines - Clinton signs an executive order to provide general HIV drugs to developing
countries - WHO announces jointed initiative with five pharmaceutical manufacturers to
provide drugs to developing countries
2001 - Secretary of State Colin Powell reaffirms the national security threat of HIV/AIDS
- CDC announces initiative to cut HIV infections in US by half in five years
- Generic HIV drug manufacturers are offered at reduced price to developing
countries
2002
- Global Fund to Fight AIDS with a partnership of governments, civil society
organizations, private sector, and affected communities is formed - Next Wave of Epode\mic report on HIV in India, China, Russia, Nigeria, and
Ethiopia - FDA approves release of first rapid HIV diagnostic test for over-the-counter sales
- UN announces that the leading cause of death in Sharan African and fourth in
the world. Average life expectancy in Africa drops from 62 years to 47 years - Worldwide ten million young people are living with HIV.
- 3.5 million new infections in sub-Sharan Africa
- 14 th Annual AIDS Conference is held in Barcelona
2003 - CDC announce that 40,000 new cases of HIV were identified, but 27,000 of the
patients had no idea who transmitted the infection - President Bush creates the Emergency Plan for AIDS relief in the State of the
Union, with $15 Billion funding - G8 agree to additional funding to fight HIV/AIDS globally
- Bill & Melinda Gates award $60 million grant for International Partnership for
Microbicides research
2004 - Congress approves $350 Million for AIDS relief fund
- Combination drugs for developing countries in a single package is approved by
FDA - FDA approves use of oral samples to test for HIV
2005 - FDA approves co-packaged antiretroviral drug regiment in the US
2006 - NIH sponsors forum on HIV/AIDS in the Native American community
- The Ryan White Cares Act is approved for third time
2007 - WHO promotes the use of HIV tests to quickly identify and reduce the infection
spread - CDC reports that over 565,000 deaths of HV in the United States since 1981
- First observance of National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day
- First observance of Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Days
- Bush signs bill for an additional $48 Billion research, care, and education, and
change in ban on entry of HIV/AIDS visitors to United States
2009 - President Obama calls for the first National HIV/AIDS Strategy in the United
States - CDC launches Act Against AIDS campaign, a multi-year program to reduce AIDS
in America, particularly in the minority communities - VA starts testing for HIV/AIDS identifying an increase in veteran cases
- Washington, DC sees a dramatic increase in HIV cases
- FDA approves 100 th antiviral drug
- President Obama launches a $63 billion effort to develop comprehensive
approach to global pandemic - US sees a 17% decrease in HIV/AIDS cases while Asia sees a 25% increase
- Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is established
2009 - President OBAMA approves $63 Bil funding for HIV/AIDS research, drug
distribution, education, and direct care - DC AIDS cases take a significant jump
2010 - US officially lifts ban on HIV travel and immigration
- NIH announces results of study that daily doses of HIV drugs reduce HIV
infection in HIV negative individuals - Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act expands access to care and
prevention programs, giving special protections to those living with HIV/AIDS - President Obama releases first National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the US
- Study finds that women who use microbicides have a higher level of protection
against HIV, a significant finding especially for developing countries where
contraception is not practiced
2011
- Federal agencies implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy
- Prep Study finds that taking HIV drugs prophylaxes reduces in incidences of HIV
infections - International AIDS Society announces that prophylactic use of retrovirus drugs
reduces the risk of HIV infections spread in non-HIV patients - Office of Nation AIDS Policy launches five regional events to implement
HIV/AIDS Strategy starting in San Francisco - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shares US plan to eradicate HIV/AIDS in the
next generation
2012 - Researchers in Australia find that antiretroviral therapy increase risk of
cardiovascular disease - Truvada is approved as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug
- New guidelines are released recommending treatment for HIV-infected patients
- The 21 st International AIDS Conference is held in the United States, first time
since 1990 (a travesty of discrimination reversed by President Obama) - A study of Americans finds the 25% of Americans believe that HIV can be
transmitted by a glass of water further supporting Americans discrimination
toward HIV infected pin its entirety in persons - First AT-HOME HIV test is approved
- AIDS Memorial Quilt is displayed in Washington, DC, first time since 1996, nearly
50,000 volunteers
2013 - First case of an infant born with HIV recovers with the eradication of the virus
- New York Times runs tow articles focusing on middle-aged people living with
HIV - President Obama signs legislation that HIV-infected persons can receive
transplants from other HIV infected persons - National Minority AIDS Council releases action plan to mitigate the impact of
HIV on black gay and bisexual men - UNAIDS announces that 2.3 million people were newly infected with HIV
during 2012, 35.3 million people around the world living with AIDS including
1.3 million Americans. In 2012 1.6 million died of AIDS globally
2014
- ACA bars discrimination in insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions
- Two Boston patients are cured of HIV during treatment for cancer
- UN expands study of women living with HIV/AIDS which has been overlooked
- CDC announces that 30% of Americans with HIV were controlling the virus
through antiretroviral therapy - Changes in blood donation guidelines allows men who have relations with other
men but have abstained for one-year were eligible to donate blood
2015
- Additional programs are launched for addressing HIV in minority communities
- A study finds that HIV infections remain stable in US with the majority of cases in
minorities and southern states - CDC finds that 90% of new infections could be prevented by diagnosing people
that are HIV-positive - Indiana has a sudden outbreak of HIV cases linked to drug use
- NIH launches international clinical trail to study heart disease in people living
with HIV - Study finds that the sooner HIV-positive patients take antiretroviral drugs, the
lower incidence of the disease progressing to AIDS - Study of HIV-1 and HIV-2 finds differences in the acuteness of the infection
- Further housing assistance is provided to low-income patients with AIDS
- UNAIDS announces that 15.8 million people were now using antiretroviral
treatments, doubling the number since 2010 - amfAR announces establishment of amfAR Institute for HIV Cure Research
- CDCC announces that US HIV diagnosis from 2005 to 2014 dropped by 19%,
but minority infections were up during the same period
2016 - 1 in 5 High School students were tested for HIV in a study. 50% of those that
were infected had no idea where they were exposed. Education is key to
prevention - The effectiveness of current antiretroviral declined requiring further expansion of
drug research. Virus mutation clearly was the cause - Research finds that prophylactic use of Truvada is effective, but doses differ for
men and women - HIV vaccine trail was launched in South Africa
- UN pledges to eradicate HIV by 2030
2017 - The Gates Foundation donates $140 million in new HIV-Prevention
- CDC announces significant decrease in death for black/African Americans
between 1999-2015, deaths by 80%, however, black African Americans have
higher HIV prevalence rate than any nation in the world - National Faith HIV & AIDS Awareness Day join forces to address education and
care programs - Elton John AIDS Foundation raises more than $385 million to support HIV/AIDS
programs around the world - The COMmitemnt to Partnership in Addressing HIV/AIDS in Southern States
(Compass) with $100 million commitment to support efforts in Southern States
2018
- Dr. Mathilde Krim dies at 91, the leading researcher for the amfAR research
program. She is a leading researcher in HIV/AIDS - Research shows that pregnant women with HIV taking antiretroviral drugs can
reduce the chance of passing the virus on to their children - Research confirms that early treatment of antiretroviral drugs prevents the
progression of AIDS in long-term survivors - Northwestern study finds that an education program with men between 18 and
29 reduces sexually transmitted infections by 40%. Education is critical - People living with HIV are twice as likely to suffer heart disease than HIV-
negative counterparts. - People with HIV taking antiretroviral treatments live well past 20 years since
becoming HIV-positive - PrEP reduces new HIV infections by 25%. Safe sex is always recommended
- December 1, 2018, marks the 30 th Anniversary of World AIDS Day
2019 - NIH finds that HIV reservoir in the body make it difficult to totally eliminate HIV
- Trump’s goal was to reduce HIV by 75% by 2025 and 90% by 2030
- Initial tests of long-term HIV antiretroviral drugs, an approach that would
eliminate the need for daily drugs - Research finds that there is a stall in reducing HIV infections (driven by lower
levels of testing, treatment, prevention, and education during the Trump years
2020 - Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funding helped to suppressed the number of
serious disease progression - The rate of HIV deaths fell by 50% between 2017 and 2020
2021 - Cabenuva is approved as a long-term injectable drug
- 195 health centers across the country achieved significant results in HIV testing,
linkage to care, and PrEP protocols. 93% of health centers hired dedicated start
to work on HIV outreach, testing, linkage to care and treatment with over 570,000
people tested, 2,260 HIV-positive individuals identified
- June 5 marked 40 years since the first identified case, with President Biden and
his team recognizing the 38 million people today living with HIV - Apretude extended-release injectable is approved
- HRSA releases a recommendation that Ryan White funding also be allocated to
gender reaffirming care and treatment services, and gender-diverse people with
HIV - Study found that those treated under the Ryan White Act maintained positive
results in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic
2022 - Department of Defense allows HIV-positive individuals to serve in the Armed
Services, no more discharges required - Additional education programs were established to promote HIV-positive
individuals not using antiretroviral therapy to take the drugs (ART Program) - White House held a conference to modernize criminal laws regarding HIV
- Biden Harris White House joined global partners at the International AIDS
Conference to affirm evidence-based messaging regarding HIV transmission and
treatment - National HIV/AIDS Strategy detailed 380 programs, policies, research, and
activities that dozens of Federal Agencies will take from 2022 to 2025 - Major HIV programs were launched
- 576,000 individuals received treatment through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS
Program in 2021
2023 - Studies of injectable suggests it has superior outcomes to previous HIV pill
treatment - Biden Harris Administration announces new steps to support transgender
community including how to affirm LGBTQ+ youth - Harm Reduction Framework put in place to provide integrated approach to HIV,
viral hepatitis, and healthcare service for people using drugs - FDA adjusted guidelines for blood donor eligibility
- MPOX public health crisis vaccination program put in place for people with HIV
- Biden Harris administration announces new actions to protect attacks on the
GLBTQ+ community with priority for youth 13 to 24 - Biden Harris Administration announces programs for long-term survivors and
elderly living with HIV - Additional research and treatment for long-term survivors dealing with
cardiovascular disease - NIH continued studies of HIV vaccines with additional clinical trials
- Studies indicate that one-third of potential PrEP candidates are actively using the
PrEP drugs - The Biden White House reaffirm its commitment to the 2023 HIV/AIDS Strategy
