If you thought we left the 80s behind us as knowledge replaced ignorance, brace yourselves.
According to a study by the Pharmaceutical company Merck and the HIV initiative Prevention Access Campaign, 41% of HIV-negative Gen Z respondents were either not at all informed or only somewhat informed about HIV, and among millennials the figure is 23%
Worse, and this is something those who witnessed the reaction to AIDS back then, 28% of HIV-negative millennials avoid hugging, talking to, or being friends with someone with HIV, as if the virus can be transmitted by casual contract, with 30% saying they would prefer not to interact socially with someone with HIV, and have avoided shaking hands or sharing food.
Remember the proposals for concentration type camps for people with AIDS and our friends isolated in out of the way hospital rooms to protect the staff and other patients?
There were and still are more subtle ways to isolate.A little enlightenment. If you go out in public to well attended places like concerts and the clubs, you are associating with, talking to, and most likely touching someone who is HIV positive in some fashion.
Merc and PAC had conducted the survey, Owning HIV: Young Adults and the Fight Ahead, as they prepared to unveil a new HIV-prevention project.
Not surprisingly, the study found that this lack of knowledge has resulted in 76% of young adults being hesitant to share their status to avoid being judged, and 90% not sharing their status for fear of losing friends or family, or even experiencing abuse.
When it came to HIV prevention, more than 50% of respondents admitted they didn’t use condoms or PrEP.
The survey involved 1,596 people between the ages of 18 and 36 the age group in which the rate of transmission has increased, while I as fell among the general population fell.
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“Despite scientific advances and decades of HIV advocacy and education, the findings highlight a disturbing trend: young adults overwhelmingly are not being informed effectively about the basics of HIV.
It’s time to elevate a real conversation about HIV and sexual health among America’s young people, and roll out innovative and engaging initiatives to educate and fight HIV stigma.”
Dr. Eliav Barr, senior vice president, Global Medical Affairs, Merck Research Laboratories, has said,
“We are proud to partner with the community to conduct this campaign and ultimately have a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities experienced by young adults living with and affected by HIV in the U.S.
We are actively applying these findings to inform forward-looking programming that will seek to educate and empower this population.Our goal is to help improve overall understanding and literacy while elevating the urgency around this critical public health issue.”
You do not want a repeat of the 1980s, and you certainly do not want to be victims of your own ignorance when the facts are available.
So, put down the phones, ignore the texts from friends who know no more than you, and, regardless how icky and un-fun the facts are, get them.
Don’t become a Jerry Falwell-Silent Majority-Born Again Christian-Ronald Reagan-Conservative-Republican clone.
The originals sat back hoping for a Gay genocide, but had to settle for a decimation of a generation of us.