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Ken Scott Baron PodcastActivist and media outreach NABWMT, commenting on racial and cultural barriers and human equality. I use educational, political, cultural, and social activities to fight racism, sexism, homophobia, and other inequities in our communities and in our lives. Author: Ken Scott Baron
Activist and media outreach NABWMT, commenting on racial and cultural barriers and human equality. I use educational, political, cultural, and social activities to fight racism, sexism, homophobia, and other inequities in our communities and in our lives. nabwmt.substack.com Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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HIV Research Cuts Effect Marginalized Groups
Wednesday, 25 February, 2026
Of the 1.2 million people living with H.I.V. in the United States, more than 60 percent are Black or Latino. Transgender women, gay and bisexual men and teenagers and young adults of color face the greatest overall risk of contracting the virus in any given year.There is disconnect between science and politics in the long war against H.I.V. Forty years ago, the infection was a mystery and a death sentence. Today, thanks to a combination of biomedical breakthroughs and diligent, public health (testing, education, robust social safety nets), it is a chronic but manageable condition that really only flourishes among society’s most marginalized groups.The first Trump administration vowed to finally end the American H.I.V. epidemic, by 2030, doubling down on prevention efforts in the hardest hit communities. The resulting initiative paid off:Transmission rates are down in the targeted ZIP codes, according to the National Minority AIDS Council, a nonprofit devoted to stopping the virus’s spread.Racial health gaps are narrowing as a result, and because prevention is cheaper than treatment, money is being saved.The second Trump administration seems determined to reverse course anyway.The future of H.I.V. research became uncertain when it was caught in the cross hairs of the Trump administration.The Adolescent Trials Network, a massive research apparatus focused on treating and preventing H.I.V. infection in teenagers and young adults, had been abruptly closed.A 10-year study on H.I.V. and substance use in L.G.B.T.Q. teenagers and young adults was suspended. So was another project on reducing H.I.V. risk in relationships.Another project, on how to improve the measurement of sexual orientation and gender identity in federal surveys, was also done for. So were at least two fellowship programs for early-career scientists who wanted to specialize in L.G.B.T.Q. health.Salaries were reliant on N.I.H. funding and a lot of jobs are now gravely imperiled.Federal grants are the lifeblood of academic research. They support scientists and students, institutes and administrators. They covered overhead costs. It is not uncommon for one person to be funded by several grants.Likewise, medication that prevents H.I.V. transmission (known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP) has became widely available. Within the gay community, middle-aged white professionals had embraced the treatment as an ordinary component of overall health and wellness. But younger adults, immigrants and racial and ethnic minorities still had not.“It’s not unlike birth control when it was first introduced. It’s pretty straightforward as a treatment, but it’s attached to all of this cultural baggage that makes it challenging to get across.Nobody outside the scientific community seems to realize what is happening. We have lost years of research in a matter of weeks. Whole labs had been closed and successful, decades-long careers ended — and none of it appeared to have anything to do with the quality or import of the research itself. The decisions were political and ideological. They were also arbitrary and needlessly cruel.Trust had been broken as a result. Whatever came next, it seems extremely unlikely projects would be able to just pick up where they had left off.Do you remember scientist having to cull words like “gay” and “sex” back in the early 1990s. But this was different. In the past, even if they had to change a word or two, they still got to do their research.Seasoned scientists are fleeing the profession, and younger ones are deciding not to pursue it at all. It’s impossible to say what new medicine those minds might have developed or what wicked problems their efforts might have solved.Source: NYT This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nabwmt.substack.com
