Today is World AIDS Day. Take a moment to remember those in our community and across the world that we have lost to the epidemic.
World AIDS Day was first observed in 1988. Each year on December 1st, organizations and individuals across the world bring attention to the HIV epidemic, endeavor to increase HIV awareness and knowledge, speak out against HIV stigma, call for an increased response to move toward ending the HIV epidemic, and remember those who we have lost to the epidemic.
This year the Pitt Men’s Study is making their annual World AIDS Day Service all virtual. The program will discuss living with HIV/AIDS during the COVID-19 pandemic and social justice movements including Black Lives Matter. The “Circle of Love,” a tradition at the World AIDS Day ceremony will read aloud the names of people who passed due to HIV/AIDS.
“The [LGBTQ] community is living with two pandemics, HIV and COVID-19,” said Charles Rinaldo, Ph.D., principal investigator of the Pitt Men’s Study and professor of infectious diseases and microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. “The men who participate in the Pitt Men’s Study are the heart of the program. The World AIDS Day event is a way to recognize the community that is helping in the fight against these pandemics.”
Marc Wagner, a member of the Pitt Men’s Study Community Board, is also participating in a COVID-19 vaccine trial. “When I had the opportunity to participate in a COVID-19 vaccine trial, I knew I had to take it,” Wagner said. “Just like during the peak of the AIDS epidemic, I wanted to help any way I could.”
The World AIDS Day service will be broadcast at 7:00 PM on PittMensStudy.com and right here on QBurgh.
