You’re right to dunk on Trump for saying there’s an “AIDS vaccine,” but if you’re straight, I bet you know <50% of the facts below. Please take a minute.

(Thanks to @chimeracoder for the reminder to use this moment to educate on an important topic.)

- the virus is called HIV, and the pandemic is HIV or HIV/AIDS
- several HIV prophylaxes (PrEP) exist, most famously Truvada
- it is not a vaccine
- it is 100% effective with several decimal points of precision
- this makes it more effective at prevention than most vaccines

- Gilead sponsors programs to provide Truvada at low/no cost to many people
- they could probably do more?
- governments of the world could certainly do more
- knowledge is a huge barrier to universal PrEP adoption (hence this tweet)
- we have the technology to eradicate HIV

- many people living with HIV self-identify as “pos” or “poz”
- being open about HIV status carries stigma that impacts the lives and livelihoods of pos folks
- ..mostly due to lack of education about the issue
- pos folks on anti-retrovirals (ART) have an undetectable viral load

- most people who are HIV+ and have access to treatment will love long, healthy lives ()
- HIV treatment is now so effective there are many long term “mixed status” couples out there
- I have been half of one! Yes you can still share a glass of water with me (um post-covid)

- if you are with someone who says they are “negative,” you’re actually with someone who was negative when they took the test X months ago
- almost all sexual transmission comes from folks with unknown status
- transmission from someone who is pos and on ART is vanishingly small

- over 1M people in the US are HIV+ (~10 covid-19s?)
- 1/7 don’t know it
- new HIV infections in US have been declining annually for 10+ yrs
- HIV has always and still does disproportionately impact communities of color, people living with addiction, poverty, or without homes

- the spread of HIV in the 80’s was exacerbated by government lack of action, awareness, and investment
- the Reagan administration thought the idea of a “gay plague” was pretty funny
- and never commented on it publicly until after 10,000’s had died http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/12/01/reagan_press_secretary_laughs_about_gay_people_dying_of_aids.html

- HIV has had a lasting impact on many communities (take a stroll through the Castro and see the story it has left in our art)
- we have the technology to eradicate HIV globally
- go get tested, and do it frequently
- vote for politicians who actually understand the HIV/AIDS cris