A man diagnosed with HIV at the age of 21 said he was “thankful to live in 2021” because it was a sin.

A man diagnosed with HIV at the age of 21 says the new drama “It’s a sin” made him realize “how grateful I am to live in 2021.”

Andrew Bates was told in 2015 that he was HIV positive, but the drug means that his virus is at undetectable levels.

From 27 years old SunderlandExplains why he felt “emotional” when he saw It’s a Sin, the story of a group of young gay men in London in the midst of an AIDS pandemic.

The catastrophic series shows the number of men lost by the virus before it became treatable and preventable.

Andrew said the series shows how important it is to remember lost lives, but it is important to emphasize that “it is not the case now.”

“I’m healthy and want to live as long as anyone else,” he said.

“It has no effect on my daily life. I take 2 tablets every night. I have been taking the same medication since my diagnosis and have no complications or side effects.”

Andrew, who currently lives in London and works as an occupational therapist, said: COVID-19 The patient and I were worried that we might be at higher risk, but my consultant said it wasn’t because it was at an undetectable level. “

Andrew was first diagnosed about six years ago and said the news was a “total shock.”

“It wasn’t on my radar,” he said.

“I was gay and sexually active, but that wasn’t what I was told.

“I was shocked, but with enough support, I took the drug immediately. This reduced the viral load to undetectable levels.”

Andrew believes there is still work to be done to address HIV awareness.

He states: “I think there is always a perception that I’m still sick.

“Recently at work, a colleague asked me if I was going to shield, and it opened a conversation about how I’m no longer affected.

“I was very interested in the people who wanted to learn. They are happy to ask questions and discuss my experience.

“I’m healthy and it’s very interesting for people to understand it.

“Untreated HIV can lead to AIDS-related illnesses, but it never happens if you are taking medication.”

But sometimes his experience could be more stigmatizing, Andrew explained.

“I experienced a face-to-face stigma from a nurse asking if I was’mischievous’.

“It was very early in my diagnosis, but she had no idea how I got it.

“There can be many things, not just sex.”

He added: “There was an article I was involved with a few years ago, and when it was posted online, I made a mistake looking at the comments.

“Some people weren’t very good. They said,” It’s your fault, “” Why should we help you? “,” I’m wasting taxpayer money to take medicine. I was saying something like that.

“It was very stigmatized and very shameful. It’s an idea of ​​shame and blame-living with HIV is doing something wrong.

“It was shocking, but it was ignorant, so it showed that we were doing the right thing to talk about it-that was what we were trying to eradicate.”

Andrew, who works a lot with the Terence Higgins Trust’s sexual health charity, said that when he saw “It’s a sin” on Channel 4, he “attacked me in different ways.”

He states: “It was touching at first to imagine what life was like when everyone around us was dead.

“I realized that I am really grateful to live in 2021 where we can get treatment.

“It impressed me. I realized that if I were alive at that time, I would probably not be alive now.”

But he added: “What the Terence Higgins Trust has been working hard on is to show people that this is no longer the case.

“It’s important to remember lost lives, but we can’t overturn all the work we’ve done over stigma and stereotypes.

“We have taken further steps to reduce people’s anxiety and avoid it again in order to say,’This is the reality of today.’ “

He also welcomed the news that the drama helped boost HIV testing, saying “it was a really special result of the show.”