Reflecting on the AIDS epidemic, 40 years since its first reported cases

AND MORE THAN 597,000 PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE DIED. >>> TODAY MARKS THE DATE 40 YEARS AGO THAT AMERICAN RESEARCHERS FIRST DESCRIBED A MYSTERIOUS ILLNESS IN 5 GAY MEN. IT WAS AN EMERGING EPIDEMIC THAT WOULD COME TO BE KNOWN AS A.I.D.S. HE RETURNS TONIGHT. >> Reporter: IN SAN FRANCISCO THIS MORNING, A WREATH WAS LAID UNDER THE RED WOODS OF THE NATIONAL A.I.D.S. MEMORIAL DEDICATED TO THE MORE THAN 700,000 AMERICANS WHO HAVE DIED FROM THE DISEASE. >> DOUGLAS WRIGHT. >> Reporter: NAMES WERE READ AND OTHERS REMEMBERED ON A NEW PANEL OF THE A.I.D.S. MEMORIAL QUILT. IT'S A PROJECT THAT STARTED ON SEWING MACHINES IN SAN FRANCISCO IN 1985 TO REMEMBER THE FIRST THOUSAND WHO DIED, JUST THE BEGINNING OF DEATHS IN THE CITY'S CASTRO DISTRICT. THE DISEASE THAT HAS CLAIMED SO MANY LIVES HERE HAS ALSO COME TO DOMINATE THE LIVES OF MANY WHO ARE NOT INFECTED. THE DOCTORS, NURSES AND VOLUNTEERS WHO HAVE BEEN CARING FOR PEOPLE SINCE THE MYSTERIOUS VIRUS FIRST APPEARED. BACK THEN, ONE OF THEM WAS DOCTOR LISA. >> WHEN I WORKED WITH MY FIRST PATIENT WITH A.I.D.S., I WENT TO SIT AT HIS BEDSIDE AND HOLD HIS HAND. I THOUGHT OH, BOY, IS IT OKAY TO TOUCH THIS MAN. >> Reporter: 40 YEARS AGO, THE DISEASE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A NAME. IT WAS CALLED "GAY CANCER." >> AND YET MOST OF THE COUNTRY DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS CANCER. >> Reporter: WHY? >> I THINK BECAUSE IT'S A GAY CANCER. >> Reporter: LARRY WAS THE FOUNDER OF ACT UP. AMONG THE EARLY RESEARCHERS LOOK FOR BOTH A CAUSE AND A CURE WAS DOCTOR ANTHONY FAUCI. >> THE PLAN IS TO PUT INTO CLINICAL TRIALS INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE FULL-BLOWN A.I.D.S. >> Reporter: WHEN THE FIRST DRUG WAS APPROVED IN 1987, THE DEMONSTRATIONS GOT LOUDER BECAUSE THE DRUG COST SO MUCH. >> IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO COST $10,000 A YEAR. >> Reporter: AT TODAY'S CEREMONY, THE LOSSES OVER 40 YEARS WERE CLEAR. BUT SO WERE THE GAINS. WHILE THERE IS STILL NO CURE, NEW TREATMENTS HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO LIVE WITH A.I.D.S. RATHER THAN JUST DIE WITH IT. >> JOHN BLACKSTONE JOINS US NOW. >> Reporter: MANY THINGS ARE THE SAME. ONE BIG DIFFERENCE IS UNLIKE COVID, IT TOOK YEARS FOR SYMPTOMS OF A.I.D.S. TO APPEAR, WHICH IS WHY THE VIRUS SPREAD SO WIDELY BEFORE IT WAS FIRST DETECTED

Channel: CBS Evening News

Views: 22,155

Keywords: aids, hiv, immune system, health, disease, sexual transmission, condoms, gay, LGBTQ, drugs, PHARMA

Id: _5R52CRVDlI

Length: 2min 48sec (168 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 05 2021