I recommend anyone here who's interested in epidemics to read "And the Band Played on". It's the definitive account of the early AIDS epidemic. The parallels to what's happening now are depressing. In 1981 and 1982, the CDC was warning anyone who would listen there was a new epidemic, but they could not get anyone to take them seriously. The gays didn't want to close the bathhouses because they were a symbol of gay civil rights. National Institutes of Health didn't take it seriously because it primarily affected just a few hundred gay people, and money for research was tight. When it moved into the blood supply, the blood bank owners questioned the research and didn't want to screen for Hepatitis B (80% of AIDS victims were also sick with Hep. B) because the costs were too high. Gay groups absolutely balked at the CDC's suggestion that gay people with high risk lifestyles should be prevented from donating. At critical junctures, there were chances to really slow down the spread of AIDS. At each of these junctures, no action was taken. As I pointed out in another thread, AIDS has now killed approx. 30 million people.
I agree that our response to HIV/AIDS was terrible at first. It was characterized by ignorance, prejudice, and wishful thinking. But I don't see anything comparable to the current pandemic response.
