What AIDS taught me about handling COVID-19

In the face of new outbreaks, our first reaction and natural hope is that we escape suffering. Despite the difficult logic of increasing new infections and increasing predictions of total mortality, our tendency is to deny the reality around us. Many bad things are already happening in our lives, such as car accidents, tornadoes, and mental illness. Why add something else to the list?

When AIDS emerged, people were happy to think it was a sickness for gay men. It happened to “them,” not “us.” In the early 1980s, fear and anxiety struck people in the homosexual community, but the rest of the country remained current. Even if the epidemic of HIV is widespread and millions of people worldwide are infected, Common belief In heterosexual America, there was nothing to worry about and no need to change the familiar lifestyle. The whole book was written Heterosexual AIDS myth.. In the loss of tens of thousands of lives, we paid the price for such stupid thoughts.

The same reason for this today relates to COVID-19. Many people consider this disease to be a affliction for men and women of all ages, protecting young and healthy people from the worst. It is seen daily in dense beaches, bars, restaurants, and, unfortunately, at an increasing rate of new infections across the country. For those who fear the infection, it is easy to widen the gap by blaming the young and healthy “them” by putting them at risk. But the truth is that, like the truth behind the HIV epidemic, it’s only natural for us all to spread this disease.

COVID-19 has sexual dynamics that are often not mentioned. This is not only the sexual activity and the way sexual activity can spread SARS-CoV-2, but also the human sexual activity pushing people out of the house and bar. Anyone who craves for beer can quench their thirst for safety at home, but it will be less satisfying when they have other desires, especially when one is young and single and living alone. ..

The same lessons learned in the midst of the HIV epidemic that support youth behavior change can be applied to COVID-19 today. Know the risks, know the partners, and take the necessary precautions.

When it comes to knowing their risks, many young people operate under the false assumption that even if they are infected, they do not have a serious illness. Not only is this basic assumption wrong, but according to the CDC, Up to 20% Although some 20-44 year-olds are hospitalized for the disease, even those with asymptomatic infections will continue to suffer serious damage from the disease. Ah Research published in Natural medicine Two thirds of COVID-19 asymptomatic patients had “ground-glass opacities” in at least one lung. The long-term health consequences of such damage are unknown, but asymptomatic infections today can lead to fatal illness in later life. The more people who understand the risks (especially young people), the more likely they are to take the steps necessary to protect themselves and others.

Knowing a partner is a much more difficult task. In the case of HIV, knowing the partner meant knowing their infection status, knowing and trusting the sexual history they provided. It was difficult enough. With COVID-19, even casual contact spreads much easier. Everyone If you are spending time in the near quarter, you’ve been protecting yourself enough to make sure that COVID-19 is gone for the past two weeks. This is almost impossible due to the high infection rates in most communities today.

With this in mind, we should all assume that everyone around us is infected and capable of transmitting the disease. Therefore, we need to make sure that we are all taking the necessary precautions to protect ourselves and our loved ones who are COVID-19 free. That is, wear a mask, physically maintain a distance, and limit interactions indoors.

In the absence of clear leadership and strong governance to escape this crisis, the best and only hope to reduce the number of new infections with COVID-19 is the nature of the disease, the actual risk of infection, and Procedures that each of us can take to avoid exposure. While HIV treatment ultimately helped control the epidemic, communication was the arsenal’s most powerful tool while waiting for medical solutions to arrive. Fortunately, communication skills are one of the defining characteristics of our species. I use it again wisely to tackle another deadly pandemic under control.