DELAWARE STATE SENATE

151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 15

RECOGNIZING JUNE 5, 2021, AS “LONG-TERM SURVIVORS AWARENESS DAY” AND MEMORIALIZING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEGINNING OF THE HIV EPIDEMIC.

WHEREAS, on June 5, 1981, the U.S. Center for Disease Control published an article in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMRW) describing a cluster of five young, previously healthy, gay men all experiencing the same rare lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, which scientists would later identify as an opportunistic disease associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); and

WHEREAS, this edition of MMRW is recognized as the first official report of what would become known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); and

WHEREAS, on June 5, 2021, those in the HIV community will memorialize the 40 ^th anniversary of the AIDS epidemic; and,

WHEREAS, nationally, June 5 ^th is recognized as HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day, a celebration of the strength and resiliency of people living longest with HIV; and

WHEREAS, in 1981, the first Delawarean died of AIDS-related illness and, in the subsequent four decades, 2,699 Delawareans diagnosed with HIV have died; and

WHEREAS, as of May 1, 2021, 3,631 Delawareans currently live with the virus; and

WHEREAS, the five-year average of Delawareans newly diagnosed with HIV is currently 103 per year (2016-2020), though there have been three consecutive years with fewer than 100 new diagnoses per year; and

WHEREAS, the transition in 1998 to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) as the standard of HIV care has significantly increased the life expectancy of persons living with HIV who are diagnosed early in their infection and who get and stay on their HIV treatment regimen; and

WHEREAS, while research shows that persons living with HIV who initiate and maintain HAART near to their HIV transmission have a life expectancy that mirrors those who are not living with HIV, they experience the onset of major chronic comorbid conditions on average over nine years sooner than the general public; and

WHEREAS, the national average for persons living with HIV who are 50 years of age or older is 50%, 62% of Delawareans living with HIV are 50 years of age or older; and

WHEREAS, a system of publicly-supported HIV health care providers and AIDS Service Organizations, including the Delaware HIV Consortium, which in 2021 is celebrating its 30 ^th anniversary of incorporation in Delaware, are relied upon to help Delawareans living with HIV overcome barriers that impede leading a normal and fulfilled life; and

WHEREAS, as Delaware enters the fifth decade of the HIV epidemic, the state now has the tools to once and for all end this epidemic; and

WHEREAS, Delaware’s tools in place to end its HIV epidemic include the “HIV National Strategic Plan: A Roadmap to End the Epidemic for the United States 2021-2025,” Treatment as Prevention, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, Syringe Service Program, Lost-to-Care/Re-engagement in Care, condom distribution, HIV testing and linkage to care, and HIV prevention and outreach.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 151 ^st General Assembly of the State of Delaware that June 5, 2021, is recognized as “HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day.”

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the Senate recognize 2021 as the 40 ^th anniversary of the HIV epidemic in Delaware, and nationally.

SYNOPSIS

This resolution recognizes June 5, 2021, as “HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day” and memorializes the date as the 40th anniversary of the official start of the HIV epidemic in the United States.

Author: Senator S. McBride