How the hell does one make this large of a mistake? We are not talking about a four (4) percent difference, but a forty (40%) percent difference, in the number of HIV infections.
The United States has significantly underreported the number of new H.I.V. infections occurring nationally each year, with a study released here on Saturday showing that the annual infection rate is 40 percent higher than previously estimated.
The study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that 56,300 people became newly infected with H.I.V in 2006, compared with the 40,000 figure the agency has cited as the recent annual incidence of the disease.
I’m sitting on a fence here — I (want to) understand why the CDC wanted the paper to go through peer-reviews before the data was actually released, which I think is important. But to take 10 months to get that accomplished, is beyond the ridiculous. It also gives those of us that give a crap about health care for all, and real science-based reporting a huge open door to blast the Bush administration, regardless of the media’s applauding of the so-called monies spent to combat HIV/AIDS.
The delay, however, has also fueled criticism that the Bush administration, which has earned plaudits for spending tens of billions to fight AIDS in a number of highly affected countries, has not done enough to fight the disease at home.
Note that over the years, going back to the “tripling” of monies spent was not so on the global fight against HIV/AIDS.One of the most contentious issues is that under the Bush initiative, generic or low-cost drugs were no longer going to be available. Shorter version, Bush let the drug companies decide policy, not to mention defunding prevention programs, and the requirement not to teach condom use, but teach abstinence only.
This all comes on the heels of the PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief) reauthorization, that passage was not without problems, including blockages by the GOP,
A group of Republican senators, however, initially blocked its passage, protesting the removal of a clause that required a minimum of 55 percent of spending be directed to treatment. A Senate compromise reached in June directed half of the HIV/Aids funds to treatment and care and also required $2 billion to be spent on programs directed to Native Americans in the United States.
The new Pepfar program dropped a requirement that one-third of the funding be spent on abstinence-only education. However, it does require close monitoring of the program’s performance. The Senate also added a measure that would end a ban on issuing visas to persons with HIV/Aids.
Last week, the compromise overwhelmingly passed both the House of Representatives and Senate, clearing the way for Wednesday’s signing ceremony. Bush was joined for the ceremony by a bipartisan group of legislators from Congress, including Joseph Biden (Democrat-Delaware), a frequent critic of the president, who called Pepfar “the single most significant thing the president has done,” according to the Associated Press.
However, let’s return home. While Bush’s HIV/AIDs initiative has not been what it’s touted to be globally, the truth at home is not so good, either. States initiatives on teaching children about HIV/AIDs prevention is pathetic, at best. (find your state) TN is in complete denial, with Abstinence Only taught and NOTHING about contraception/condom use to prevent HIV and other STI’s.
There is one paragraph that I felt the NYTime should have put closer to the beginning of the article, rather than the end:
The C.D.C. said the findings confirmed sharp declines in the number of new H.I.V. infections each year, from a peak of about 130,000 in the mid-1980s to a low of roughly 50,000 in the early 1990s. But the findings also indicate that the number of new infections increased in the late 1990s but has since remained relatively stable, with estimates of 55,000 to 58,500 in the three most recent time periods analyzed.
Now, I realize this was placed where it was to “debunk” the denier quoted, but it also would have been a good follow-up for the race statistics. It’s also important to note that the increase in infections comes around the same time of the GOP take-over of Congress.
I suspect that someone or a group of someones has purposely withheld this report for election year fear at home. I suspect this because I find the beginning of this article highly inflammatory:
The findings confirm that H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, has its greatest effect among gay and bisexual men of all races (53 percent of all new infections) and among African-American men and women.
The old-white-men-sans-robes-groups will be screaming louder about getting rid of gays and blacks.
The government can do better, but so can we. Despite our misgivings with the government, and the seemingly endless “let downs”, missed opportunities and out and out mistakes that cause suffering and may even arguably perpetuate disease transmission, we must empower ourselves and our children to take control of our OWN circumstances. WE MUST insist that young people access testing, that we ourselves are tested and are appropriately and thoroughly educated regarding disease prevention. Eventhough highly accurate 20-minute HIV tests are widely available, few take the time or the opportunity to take the test or take control of our own risky behaviors. Get tested. Even if the government can’t count, you will be able to count yourself armed with the knowledge to protect yourself and others against HIV and other STDs.