To the Point
Can AIDS Ever Be Cured?
Thirty years ago this past Sunday, the first five cases of what became known as HIV/AIDS showed up in Los Angeles. It has now killed 30 million people worldwide. Thirty-three million have the disease -- one million in the US, and there's been progress. Drugs that once cost $12,000 a year now cost less than $200.
By Warren Olney • • 1 min readThirty years ago this past Sunday, the first five cases of what became known as HIV/AIDS showed up in Los Angeles. It has now killed 30 million people worldwide. Thirty-three million have the disease -- one million in the US, and there's been progress. Drugs that once cost $12,000 a year now cost less than $200. Those same drugs that control HIV can prevent its transmission, but only if they're taken before symptoms begin to develop. Should patients be forced to take them? Should more research money go for a cure? What about a vaccine? Can medicine reach the poor who suffer the most?
