20/07/2021
We have this week passed the fortieth anniversary of the publication of the first mainstream press coverage of the medical phenomenon that would eventually come to be known as AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). On 3rd July 1981, the New York Times published its three column piece, Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals. This narrative is considered by most historians to mark the formal start of the AIDS Crisis, although neither AIDS or the virus HIV yet had their nomenclature. As we look back from our fortunate position on those years when AIDS was incurable and a death sentence, we remember the members of our own and other communities whose lives were cut short, and the sacrifices made by a generation of activists in a wide variety of groups that were set up to meet the challenges of the health crisis. We salute you: today, HIV research is informing responses to Covid19 and thus continuing to save lives.
