📉”HIV on the Run in the US: Young Queer Men Lead the Charge! 🌈💪”

TL:DR; 👀: US is seeing a glimmer of hope with a 12% drop in new HIV infections from 2017 to 2021, primarily driven by young gay and bisexual men, says CDC. 🎉 Yet, racial disparities persist in HIV prevention and treatment. 😔 Is it all 🌈 and 🦄 yet, or do we still have a mountain to climb?

Alright fam, let’s dive right in. 🏊‍♂️

Numbers from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are pointing towards some real positivity, literally. 🙌 New HIV infections have taken a dip, especially among our young, fierce, and fabulous gay and bisexual men, representing a hard-fought battle against the virus. But hold up a minute! 🛑 Do these numbers tell the whole story?

Guess what? In 2021, there were approximately 32,000 new HIV infections, that’s a 12% decrease from 2017! 🎉 So, a round of applause for progress, please! 👏 But wait, there’s more. Our young gay and bisexual men between 13 and 24 years old are leading the charge with a hefty 34% decrease in annual infections. Talk about being warriors, right? 💪🏳️‍🌈

Now, let’s break it down even further. 💁‍♀️ While young White gay and bisexual men are seeing more significant improvements, their Black and Hispanic brothers are still facing some serious challenges. 😥 Do we smell some unfairness in the HIV prevention and treatment room? 🤔

Let’s throw in some more numbers here. Black and Hispanic folks account for a disproportionate share of new HIV infections. And when it comes to PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) – a preventative treatment – relatively fewer prescriptions were given to Black or Hispanic people in 2021. 📉 Is this a one-size-fits-all situation, or are we missing something here? 🤷‍♀️

Imagine this – only 11% of Black people who could benefit from PrEP were prescribed it, compared to 20% of Hispanic people and 78% of White people. 😲 Something doesn’t add up here, right?

Looking at the big picture, the CDC estimates about 1.2 million people in the US are living with HIV, but one in eight are oblivious to their status. 😱 Awareness seems to be taking a backseat, especially among our young folks who represented about 15% of new infections in 2021.

While we’re seeing improvements, don’t pop the champagne just yet! 🍾 The CDC says that systemic issues like social and economic marginalization and residential segregation still stand in the way of highly effective HIV treatment and prevention reaching everyone equally. 😥 And don’t even get us started on how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted testing and other HIV care services. 😓

So here’s the million-dollar question: 🤔 are we really moving in the right direction, or are we just running on a hamster wheel, repeating the same mistakes while expecting different results?

Bottom line is, while we’ve made some strides, there’s still a ton of work to be done. We’ve got a whole community that needs our help. 🏳️‍🌈🤝 Are we doing enough to spread awareness, or are we just standing on the sidelines, expecting magic to happen? 🎩🐇

Over to you, world!