It was 30 years ago this week that the federal government first reported on a new disease that was affecting young "active homosexuals."
It will be 20 years this fall when the world was shocked as Magic Johnson announced that he had contracted HIV. And it was 15 years ago when the first protease inhibitors, combined with older drugs, reduced the blood levels of the deadly virus to below the limits of detection, bringing a lifeline to millions of those affected by the virus.
AIDS isn't in the news as much these days, but the fact of the matter is in Florida it's the leading cause of death for young black women. And with a concern that eligibility of those who are able to access those life savings drugs in Florida might be at risk, pop music star Elton John has written a letter to Governor Rick Scott, calling on him not to allow that to happen.
This article appears in Jun 2-8, 2011.