Santa Clara health officials reflect on 4 decades of fighting HIV, lessons applied to COVID-19 – CBS San Francisco

SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) – Santa Clara County commemorated the 33rd World AIDS Day, reflecting on the lives lost over the past four decades, but also the lessons that have been applied to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

“It has become even more important than ever to celebrate our victories over disease, death and division,” said Dr. Sarah Rudman, assistant health worker for Santa Clara County.

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World AIDS Day, celebrated every December 1 since 1988, aims to honor the lives lost to the disease.

Members of the county’s HIV commission hoisted a flag to honor the 6,778 people diagnosed with HIV and 4,956 people diagnosed with HIV since the fight against the epidemic began in the early 1980s.

In Santa Clara County, 165 people were diagnosed with HIV in 2019 and 115 in 2020. Rudman said the 2020 drop was likely due to patients who were discouraged from getting tested for HIV because of the ongoing COVID pandemic.

Dr Rudman, who heads the county’s STD and HIV Prevention and Control Program, said current vaccine technology may have its roots in technological breakthroughs resulting from AIDS research.

“The scientific advancements we have seen that have helped us get so far into COVID, where we have safe and effective vaccines available to all, these advancements have been built on the backbone of investment in research on HIV over the past 40 years. Without this investment, we would never have made such rapid progress in helping us stay safe today, ”said Rudman.

The county’s COVID strategy to scale up testing and immunization among the Latin American community, economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, farm laborers and other essential workers, was “straight out of the HIV handbook.”

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“The exact same populations that have been disproportionately affected by HIV year after year, especially communities of color, we have been struck by COVID again. And that’s one more reason why, in addition to advancing our scientific knowledge and ensuring that everyone has access to these interventions, we need to tackle inequity itself, ”said Rudman.

“We pushed hard and forward on equity. We worked to make sure we left no one behind, no neighborhoods behind, no housekeeping behind, ”said county supervisor Cindy Chavez.

Dr Marty Fenstersheib, now the county’s vaccine manager, recalled his early days fighting AIDS in South Bay.

“It really hits me when I think of the first cases, in 1981. And I was doing the math and it’s like it’s been 40 years since the first cases,” Fenstersheib said.

Would the world still be facing COVID cases 40 years from now? The world’s health systems are likely to handle cases of COVID for the foreseeable future, according to Fenstersheib.

“For me, it’s like the flu. I think it’s going to last a long time. I don’t see the end. I think we will live with COVID. So we’ll probably have regular booster shots on the road. It will be part of our lives, I think, for a while, ”Fenstersheib said.

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“I think the work we have done over the past 40 years to fight HIV has taught us to trust science, to make rapid progress, to invest in our public health infrastructure and to share the benefits widely. information, as soon as we have it. It will take us through the next 40 years. So we not only have different conversations about HIV and COVID, but the next disease we need to fight we are even more prepared to deal with, ”Rudman said.