Still Not a Cold

 Some find the term "airborne AIDS" offensive, but we can't deny the similarities. 

After writing here every day since August 1st, I actually got distracted enough trying to barrel through my (likely) final tedious course. So this is a save-worthy thread entirely from HIV+ Long Covid advocate Daniel Brittain Dugger:

There was a golden opportunity for the West to exit the pandemic with the immune competence and cognition of its citizens preserved. Unfortunately, there was more concern about the suffering of individuals forty years ago than the suffering of millions today. There is little question but that we do find ourselves in the very same position as we were in during the 80s.

1. With both viruses, there is immune system dysregulation, including depletion of the CD4 compartment.
2. Both viruses are persistent, known since December of 2021 with the work of Dr. Daniel Chertow.
3. With both viruses, there is an aversion to the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions, such masks and condoms.
4. With both viruses, vaccines are not protective.
5. With both viruses, there is forward transmission, evidenced by the fact monoclonals have been wiped out.

Here is an example of the emotion response, that I mentioned above. Arjee Restar, a social epidemiologist, an assistant professor at the University of Washington, and a research faculty affiliate at Yale School of Public Health, said referring to COVID by this term is "scientifically inaccurate, incredibly irresponsible, and deeply insensitive to people with HIV."

It is not scientifically inaccurate. That SARS-Cov-2 depletes the CD4 compartment was known on September 28, 2020. That this hallmark was shared was once again described in March of 2022. In September of 2022, Covid-19 was added directly under HIV on Merck Medical's website:

Acquired lymphocytopenia
The most common causes include:
Protein-energy undernutrition
HIV infection
COVID-19
Certain other viral infections

Patients with COVID-19 also frequently have lymphocytopenia (35 to 83% of patients) (2). Lower lymphocyte counts portend a poor prognosis and an increased likelihood of requiring ICU admission and of dying from the disease. The cause of the lymphocytopenia is not completely understood, but COVID-19 can directly infect lymphocytes, and a cytokine-related apoptosis of the cells is likely. 

It is in fact not deeply insensitive to the HIV positive population as we have family members and clinicians living with a chronic SARS-Cov-2 infection, deserving of forty years of evidenced-based medicine that allows us to maintain our immune competence and cognition. 1.2 million HIV positive individuals face the prospect of being in the care of a clinician who is suffering from cognitive impairment equal in magnitude to HIV, Associated Neurocognitive Decline, asymptomatic in some cases. All participants underwent an in-person cognitive testing battery with a neuropsychologist, applying equivalent criteria used for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). Surprisingly, the researchers found that 13 of the 22 participants (59%) with cognitive symptoms met HAND criteria, compared with seven of the 10 control participants (70%). 1.2 million HIV positive individuals face the prospect of observing their HIV negative, SARS-Cov-2 positive friends, relatives, and colleagues reactivate Tuberculosis and suffer the death of an AIDS patient.