We are all now
well aware of how the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic ravaged Black communities
when people died at a rate twice as high as whites. Elected officials have
promised to do something about the well-documented but often-forgotten
epidemics of asthma, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other preexisting
conditions that allowed the novel coronavirus to disproportionately impact
communities of color.
The national
conversation on comorbidities that leave communities vulnerable to pandemics
like COVID-19 all too often leaves out people who are living with HIV and are
immunocompromised. HIV is a crisis that continues to carry the burden of
stigma, tear apart families, create fear and confusion, claim too many lives,
and present constant barriers to care for people living with HIV and those
seeking prevention services. Any national mobilization to improve public health
for Black Americans is doomed unless it puts this virus alongside underlying
health conditions that leave whole communities particularly vulnerable.
As we observe
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in this month dedicated to Black history,
we are reminded of how much work still there is to do to combat the devastation
that HIV continues to have on Black people across the globe. Many hear “HIV” or
“AIDS” and treat it like polio or some other bygone, eradicated disease. But in
2019, over 36,000 joined the more than 1 million people in
the U.S. living with HIV orvAIDS. Of those living with the virus, an estimated 40 percent are Black — despite Blacks
making up just 13 percent of the U.S. population.
Sadly, this
trend shows no sign of slowing down. Although biomedical advances and
therapeutic medicine exist today to radically change the trajectory of the
virus and improve the lives of persons living with HIV, Black people still
account for approximately 42 percent of all new cases. Perhaps most alarming is
that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 7 percent increase among Black people in
the 25-34 age group between 2014 and 2018.
While we don’t
have a complete picture of the impact of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant on
those living with HIV, it is already certain that this virus disproportionately
ravished the Black community, with aggression. As early as April 2020, barely a
month into the pandemic, Black Louisiana residents alone made up 70 percent of the state’s deaths despite making up 32
percent of its population. There are many reasons why people of color were
devastated: Many are frontline workers, experience poverty, live in substandard
housing, or have an understandable mistrust of the medical community.
But the most
important common denominator is that many in these communities lack adequate
access to health care. That in turn leads to a great disconnect between people
acquiring HIV but never being tested for it. An estimated 13 percent of all people with HIV in the
U.S. don’t know they have the virus. The longer they go without treatment or
knowing their status, the less likely they are to become virally suppressed and
protect themselves and their partners.
We are calling
upon the entire Black community to get tested for HIV and tested for COVID-19 —
often and unwaveringly. This is an intergenerational cry for us to commit to
being informed. Knowing your status will help you take better care of your
health and your loved ones.
And we are
calling upon the Biden administration to build upon the CDC’s historic $216 million in support over the last five years to
community-based organizations that focus HIV prevention. These critically
needed dollars must go to grassroots organizations in high-risk areas, whose
staff often come from these communities and know best how to deploy the tools
that can stop the spread of HIV.
This in turn
will also help more HIV-positive Black people get the care they need. We have
seen many people test positive only to never come back or follow up with a
medical professional. Only 63 in every 100 Black people living with HIV
received some treatment in 2018, according to the CDC. This tracked lower than for the
general HIV-positive population. The numbers for those retained in care and the
virally suppressed are also lower among Black people with the virus.
The bottom
line is the Black community represents the largest share of people living with
HIV yet gets less care to stop it. That’s no way to defeat an epidemic.
We can create
a community safe space to end this virus with the same conviction and sustained
effort we have shown toward COVID-19, asthma, heart disease, and other
illnesses. That must start at the grassroots level, with organizations such as
ours continuing and expanding upon our lifesaving work. We can be the bridge of
trust between the frightened person who thinks they might be living with HIV
and the federal resource that could save their lives.
It’s time for
our nation to overcome the pandemic before us alongside the one that has harmed
us for decades.
Grazell
Howard is the chair of the board for the Black AIDS Institute.
SOURCE: ADVOCATE
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