The COVID-19-related death toll in the United States recently surpassed 100,000. Estimates for how many more people will die because of COVID-19 vary wildly. Some are describing this situation as unprecedented.
It is not. And I know because I am a long-term survivor of HIV.
I have been living with HIV for nearly four decades and have attended more than my fair share of funerals. Too many times, I have sat in pews next to the grieving friends and family of someone we loved who was now in a casket or urn. The reality of what the HIV virus can do has shaped most of my adult life.
Today, June 5, is HIV Long-term Survivors Day, a day set aside to recognize the accomplishment of surviving and the needs of those of us who are thriving and aging with HIV. There are many unique things that we who are long-term survivors need to continue surviving, but there is one that we want for everyone: to end the HIV epidemic in the United States.