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HIV Timeline

This timeline presents information about HIV over the course of my life. Each year touches on several interesting and important aspects of the disease that happened then. In all of this, it’s tough to see how optimistic we all were about vaccines, about how many people could be treated by X year, etc.

  • 1993- Born!
    • The first film about HIV is made, Philadelphia, and starred Tom Hanks, securing national coverage for the disease in pop-culture
    • President Bill Clinton bars HIV-positive individuals from immigrating to the U.S.
    • The FDA approves the female condom for use in the prevention of HIV and other STIs
    • The CDC expands the definition of HIV to include more on IV drug users and women
  • 1994- if my mom had been HIV positive and I had been born this year, she would be taking AZT during her pregnancy!
    • A study shows that the use of AZT perinatally reduces transmission significantly and the U.S. Public Health Service changes its recommendations based on that
    • The FDA approves the first oral HIV test
    • AIDS becomes leading cause of death for all Americans ages 25 to 44
  • 1995
    • The first protease inhibitor is approved by the FDA
    • First guidelines for the prevention of opportunistic infections in persons infected with HIV issued by U.S. CDC
    • First National HIV Testing Day created
  • 1996- UNAIDS is often of my primary research sources when I’m writing a paper, but I don’t typically think about when influential organizations begin, so it’s interesting to see that it’s older than I expected! Also, it’s sad to see that the IAVI was formed but that we still don’t have a vaccine almost 20 years later.
    • UNAIDS is established
    • The FDA approves first non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor
    • HIV no longer leading cause of death for all Americans ages 25-44 (but still is for African-Americans)
    • Brazil becomes the first nation to begin national ARV distribution
    • The FDA approves the home testing kit and the urine test for HIV
    • International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), an NGO, forms
    • HAART is hailed as one of the most important factors in the fight against AIDS
  • 1997- I figured HAART was a lot newer than this! It’s interesting to see that this treatment has been around for about 18 years and we’re still perfecting it.
    • AIDS-related deaths decline, likely due to the use of HAART
    • President Clinton announces goal of finding an effective vaccine in 10 years
  • 1998- It’s amazing that it took the U.S. so long to give any attention and increase services for minorities. Also amazing to see that the U.S. acknowledged the efficacy of needle exchange programs!
    • More attention is drawn to HIV in minorities, as black leaders declare a “state of emergency”
    • More side effects of HAART are observed, and optimism starts to fade
    • First large-scale human trials for a vaccine begin
    • Payouts begin for hemophiliacs who contracted HIV from infected blood
    • HHS determines that needle exchange programs are effective and don’t encourage drug use
  • 1999- This year my family embarked on a two-year long road trip around the U.S. We saw a lot of poverty and volunteered all across the U.S. in homeless shelters and food banks. We probably served many HIV-positive people and I had no idea what HIV even was. My brother is almost ten years older than me—I wonder if he knew about it by then.
    • Increased attention given to HIV in the Latino community
    • First human vaccine begins in a developing country (Thailand)
  • 2000
    • U.S. and UN Security Councils declare HIV/AIDS a security threat
    • The fight begins for increased access to affordable or generic drugs
    • Some states expand medicaid to cover low-income people with HIV
    • Millenium Development Goals established
  • 2001- Fear surrounding Y2K was all the rage as we returned from our travels. Really though, HIV was a must greater threat than a conspiracy theory about the end of the world.
    • First Annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in the United States
    • First Annual National HIV Vaccine Awareness Day in the United States
    • Generic drug manufacturers offer to produce discounted, generic forms of HIV/AIDS drugs
  • 2002- The “Next Wave” countries are still the emerging problematic areas today; the test approved this year is still used today and can be purchased in drug stores
    • HIV is leading cause of death worldwide, among those aged 15-59 (AKA most of the population)
    • Women make up about half of all worldwide infections
    • U.S. National Intelligence Council releases report on “Next Wave” of the Epidemic, focused on India, China, Russia, Nigeria, and Ethiopia
    • Approval of OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test is released
  • 2003- I turn 10! I still wasn’t aware of HIV but was definitely becoming more aware of population health, as we talked about health and medicine all the time at home and my mom had just started homeschooling me. I think we also did sex ed this year, but definitely didn’t talk about protection.
    • PEPFAR is established
    • “3 by 5” Initiative announced by World Health Organization, to bring treatment to 3 million people by 2005
  • 2004
    • The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS is launched to raise the awareness of HIV’s impact on females
  • 2005- Reaching 700,000 people with affordable drugs seems like a big deal—doesn’t sound so huge to me now in the light of how many people were/are affected globally, but it was probably huge then.
    • First Annual National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in the United States.
    • Organizations that are “world leaders” in health (such as the WHO) announce that over 700,000 people had been reached by affordable antiretroviral drugs
  • 2006- It seems like by this time attention was shifting from the epidemic in the U.S. to international aid. Also, I took biology this year but I don’t think we talked about HIV at all.
    • First Annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in the United States
    • First Annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in the United States
    • The CDC recommends routine screening for HIV for people aged 13-64
  • 2007- This is the year that attention shifted to mass circumcision!!!
    • The World Health Organization and UNAIDS recommend that “male circumcision should always be considered as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention package.”
    • President Bush calls for reauthorization of funds for PEPFAR
    • The “Berlin patient” receives a stem cell transplant from a donor who was immune to HIV. Today, he’s considered the only person to have been cured of HIV (see image)
  • 2008- Landmark year for LGBT HIV awareness because of the first Gay Men’s Awareness Day
    • PEPFAR reauthorized for the next five years for up to $48 billion
    • First Annual National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in the United States.
    • CDC releases new HIV incidence data and shows that HIV rates are increasing

      The Berlin Patient

  • 2009- I didn’t know that needle exchanges could be federally funded!
    • President Obama calls for the first ever National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States.
    • Ban lifted on federal funding for needle exchange programs in the U.S.
    • Obama administration lifts immigration ban for HIV positive immigrants
  • 2010- I started college this year but barely knew what HIV was. I learned about it in freshman biology and saw ads for condoms that focused on the prevention of HIV
    • Study done in South Africa shows that microbicide gel can reduce HIV infection in women
    • Study finds that preventive combination ART in MSM and transgendered women who have sex with men may decrease susceptibility to HIV
    • Obama Administration releases first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States
  • 2011- I take a class on HIV and found it FASCINATING!! It turned me on to public health, HIV prevention, the need for comprehensive sex education, and so much more.
    • HHS launches the “12 cities” project to help the cities with the highest burden of HIV in the U.S.
    • A study finds that early treatment of an infected person greatly reduces the likelihood of transmission to their partner
  • 2012- I officially changed my major to public health and inhaled anything I read about HIV or sex education. Because I was reading so much, I remember seeing lots of rumors of people being cured or a vaccine being developed.
  • 2013- I remember a specific conversation with my brother where I explained why a vaccine was probably still very far off and how a negative test doesn’t mean someone is cured of HIV
  • 2014- I decided that I really wanted to pursue policy and social determinants of health in grad school. Also heard this (http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/11/25/366547449/treatment-for-hiv-runs-low-in-u-s-despite-diagnosis) on NPR and talked about why people weren’t getting treated with my mom for days
  • 2015- Officially accepted to grad school! Also attending Garey’s class on HIV which has motivated me to concentrate on race and health for my MPH. I heard a great lecture on HIV, incarceration rates, and modern racial segregation while I was at Columbia’s orientation.