CULTURE
A TIME FOR
LIFE AND LOVE
What lessons can we learn
from the ’80s AIDS crisis,
asks Bill Nelles
‘B
y the pricking of my
thumbs, something
wicked this way
comes.’ (Macbeth)
In the time since
I wrote last month (DDN, April,
page 8), so much has happened
to change our lives beyond all
recognition, causing immense
grief and sadness. So today I was
thinking about the similarities
and differences between the AIDS
epidemic of the last century and
our current COVID health crisis,
and seeing if some of the tactics
we used then could be adapted to
today’s situation.
AIDS caused a lot of the same
fear and panic that we’re seeing
now. However, attitudes changed
when it became clear that the HIV
virus could only infect people by
direct exchange of body fluids such
as blood and semen. It still took
some years before it was generally
accepted that HIV was not spread
by touch or cough droplets – it was
behaviour that spread the virus, not
casual contact.
COVID-19 is very different. It
spreads rapidly through casual
contact such as coughing and
sneezing. It has a short incubation
period before symptoms emerge
– although people at this stage
can spread it to others – unlike
HIV which destroyed the immune
system over months and even
years. The vast majority of people
with AIDS died before we could
treat their infections arising from
impaired immune systems and
develop the antiretroviral drugs
that led to people leading almost
normal lives.
WWW.DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS.COM
So, in the absence of any
treatment or ‘cure’, what really
helped us though the last
epidemic were national and local
organisations that enabled us
to counter misinformation from
sensational media coverage with
accurate and honest information,
even when it was uncomfortable
for ministers. We worked to form
local organisations across the
country that soon became the
backbone of a self-help support
system, helping people with
everything from claiming benefits
to understanding the importance
‘What really helped
us though the last
epidemic were
national and local
organisations
that enabled
us to counter
misinformation
from sensational
media coverage
with accurate and
honest information,
even when it was
uncomfortable for
ministers.’
In 1987, the UK
government’s AIDS
leaflet DON’T DIE OF
IGNORANCE was sent
to every household in the
country: ‘By the time you
read this, probably 300
people will have died in
this country. It is believed
that a further 30,000
carry the virus. This
number is rising and will
continue to rise unless we
all take precautions...’
of taking the new triple therapies
exactly as prescribed.
We set up buddy groups where
people had a named individual to
work with to shop, clean, nurse
and solve problems as they arose.
We worked with government
and unions and soon became the
national organisation for people
with AIDS, the Terrence Higgins
Trust.
But what was very different
then were the arguments for
testing. In 1985 we could only tell
if someone had been exposed to
the virus – the antibodies produced
in the body in response to HIV
showed infection but had no
protective value, and if you needed
life insurance for any reason you
couldn’t get it if you tested positive.
COVID-19 antibodies, on
the other hand, appear to have
protective value and show the
person is no longer carrying the
virus. So antibodies may be used,
very soon, both therapeutically
to boost the immune response in
others and to demonstrate that
someone is no longer contagious.
This will enable volunteer groups
to form and safely provide services
better suited to local provision.
In 1985 we didn’t need to worry
about day-to-day contact with
those infected – now things are
different and people will need
to know they are not contagious
before helping others.
When this is all over, as one day
it will be, our true challenge will be
to resist the pressures to return the
old normalities, and instead craft
a truly sustainable and equitable
future for all. One day we will tell
our children about these dark
days, and hopefully, seeing the
cleanliness of the air, the lack of
smog, the clarity returning to our
lakes and rivers, they will insist on
a world that’s different to the one
we all knew was unsustainable and
leading to catastrophe.
Bill Nelles is an advocate and
activist, now in Canada. He founded
The (Methadone) Alliance in the UK
MAY 2020 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 11