Covid-19 has now killed about 730,000 people in the US, making it the deadliest pandemic in the nation's history, with more lives claimed than by HIV/Aids.
The tally comes as the US marks four decades since HIV — the virus that can cause Aids — was first detected in the country, and some are now looking at the two vastly different diseases and seeing parallels.
The US government's initial approach to both HIV/Aids and Covid was denial and indifference.
As Aids rampaged through communities in New York, San Francisco and elsewhere in the early 1980s, the administration of former president Ronald Reagan looked the other way.
Even as the disease claimed tens of thousands of American lives, Reagan slashed spending on public health agencies, and it wasn't until 1987 that he recognised the pandemic.
“I wish in the HIV response, they tried to bring all Americans along, and it wasn't just a problem that was in certain communities,” Kevin Fisher, director of policy, data and analysis for the Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, told The National.
“If they brought everybody along and said this is something that we all need to figure out, then it would have been better.”
When Covid-19 first arrived in the US, then-president Donald Trump repeatedly played down its dangers, dismissing it as akin to “a regular flu” — even after he knew it was far deadlier.
They're both diseases that kind of prey on human intimacy
Kevin Fisher,
Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition
Both crises have disproportionately affected minority groups and poorer communities. For Covid, people of colour have often had to keep working in front-line jobs while white and wealthier people stayed home.
For HIV/Aids, homosexuals and drug-using populations were hit hardest by the disease in the early days as it was transmitted primarily through unprotected sex and intravenous drug use.
“They're both diseases that kind of prey on human intimacy”, despite differences in how they're spread, Mr Fisher said.
More than 34,000 HIV infections were registered in the US in 2019, Kaiser Family Foundation data show.
HIV-related illness ranked tenth in leading causes of deaths for people between the ages of 25 and 34, and killed a total of 486 people in this age group in 2019, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Exact numbers are unknown, but it is believed that at least 700,000 people in the US have died as a result of HIV/Aids.
Covid cases are dropping nationwide but the US continues to report an average of 75,000 infections and 1,250 deaths daily, the CDC said.
The US leads the world in deaths from Covid.
“That's just heartbreaking that in a year and a half of this pandemic, we've seen so many, so many lives lost and especially since having the vaccine available,” Stephen Lee, executive director of the National Alliance of State & Territorial Aids Directors, told The National.
At the same time, Mr Lee said the US government has learnt some important lessons from HIV/Aids.
In 40 years of fighting the virus, health programmes and healthcare infrastructure have expanded, helping the US better address the current pandemic.
Despite his Covid denial, Mr Trump was quick to emphasise the need for a vaccine under the Operation Warp Speed public-private partnership that has helped create and roll out several Covid vaccines and treatments on an accelerated time frame.
“Some of the rapidity of which we see and saw the development of vaccine and treatment and prevention aspects around Covid was built on some of the experience we had with HIV,” Mr Lee said.
Mr Fisher noted how the early official response to HIV/Aids stigmatised sufferers.
With Covid, anti-Asian hate crimes spiked as Mr Trump and others blamed China for the virus.
While there is currently no cure for HIV or Aids, two people have been functionally “cured”: the PrEP pill significantly lowers the risk of HIV infection for at-risk communities and several antiretroviral pills treat HIV, making it a chronic, manageable condition.
Mr Lee and Mr Fisher said another lesson learnt from HIV/Aids was prioritising community engagement.
For instance, volunteer mutual-aid groups were created in local neighbourhoods and the administration of President Joe Biden formed a White House Covid-19 Equity Task Force as part of its national pandemic response.
Many US health leaders, including Mr Biden's top medical adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, and CDC chief Dr Rochelle Walensky, started their careers in HIV prevention and are now leading the US fight against Covid.
Mr Fisher and Mr Lee believe increased investment in public health infrastructure and future pandemic preparedness will help the world address both HIV and Covid.
“There are benefits that we can mine from the Covid response so far,” Mr Lee said.
“All the money and resources that are going into improving our public health infrastructure will have spillover effects and other aspects of communicable diseases like HIV.”
Much work remains to be done, however, including funding US plans to end the HIV/Aids health crisis by 2030, which Mr Biden said he supports.
“Remember that HIV is still there, it's still a major epidemic that we haven't got under control, and we need global commitment to try and finish the work on that,” Mr Fisher said.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
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Abu Dhabi GP starting grid
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
4 Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
5 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
6 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
7 Romain Grosjean (Haas)
8 Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
9 Esteban Ocon (Force India)
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
11 Carlos Sainz (Renault)
12 Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
13 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
14 Sergio Perez (Force India)
15 Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
16 Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
17 Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
18 Stoffe Vandoorne (McLaren)
19 Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
20 Lance Stroll (Williams)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Federer's 19 grand slam titles
Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal
French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling
Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic
US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
MATCH INFO
Qalandars 109-3 (10ovs)
Salt 30, Malan 24, Trego 23, Jayasuriya 2-14
Bangla Tigers (9.4ovs)
Fletcher 52, Rossouw 31
Bangla Tigers win by six wickets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
The specs: 2019 Audi A8
Price From Dh390,000
Engine 3.0L V6 turbo
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 345hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy, combined 7.5L / 100km
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Three ways to get a gratitude glow
By committing to at least one of these daily, you can bring more gratitude into your life, says Ong.
- During your morning skincare routine, name five things you are thankful for about yourself.
- As you finish your skincare routine, look yourself in the eye and speak an affirmation, such as: “I am grateful for every part of me, including my ability to take care of my skin.”
- In the evening, take some deep breaths, notice how your skin feels, and listen for what your skin is grateful for.
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
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