The title of this entry lends largely to two aspect surrounding Antiretroviral drugs. First, I will address the popular misconceptions these antiretroviral drugs are a cure for AIDS and the associated social/personal consequences. Secondly, I will discuss that arguably, for many in America, the AIDS plague is over, but realistically, for many, the cost of antiretroviral drugs are too great to even afford “extended time” with the treatment.
To begin, the most popular “aids cocktail” of antiretroviral drugs is known as Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy” (HAART). HAART therapy is a combination of several drugs that follow a strict pill regiment accompanied by severe side affects. For HAART therapy to work, there has to be a strict adherence to the pill regiment because incompliance leads to drug resistance within the body as well as the body’s viral resistance not building up. It’s an extremely strenuous therapy regiment that is both resource intensive and expensive. Another words, HAART therapy is just that, a therapy that enables the AIDS patients to have a chance at longer-term survival with a combination of drugs that increase the body’s viral resistance. It’s not a cure to AIDS.
There are serious social consequences in associating HAART therapy as a cure for AIDS because first, it allows people to become complacent in the fight to find the cure. They assume one has already been found. There is also the aspect that is lowers people’s inhibitions to practice safe sex, assuming that HAART therapy can fix the problem. Essentially, it’s putting a bowl under a leaky pipe and not trying to fix the pipe.
The second critique of HAART therapy is that people consider it a cure for AIDS and that these drugs are accessible to everyone. They are not. For those from lower socioeconomic status, the chances of receiving HAART therapy are slim to none considering the enormous price. Don’t feel too at ease though, even Americans that consider themselves a bit higher up on the socioeconomic ladder have limited access to HAART therapy because it’s likely they aren’t insured. Consider this, as of the most recent statistics released in 2006 from the Census bureau, 47.0 million Americans are without health insurance coverage. What if one of them contracts AID/HIV, where are they going to find the money to afford HAART therapy that can easily run thousands of dollars? They might not have the money to afford to buy the “extended time” HAART offers its patients with increasing the body’s viral resistance.
Perhaps better rephrased, “you got the money, you get the time”.
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