Gov. Cuomo Unveils Blueprint Aimed To Reduce Spread Of AIDS
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - Gov. Andrew Cuomo visited the LGBT center on W. 13th Street Wednesday to unveil a blueprint intended to end the AIDS epidemic.
The governor hopes to reduce new infections from 3,000 to 750 per year in New York by 2020.
We will #EndtheEpidemic in New York, but this will resonate all across the nation. Watch: http://t.co/SrDUVLQ7FP pic.twitter.com/QpNe0iebAu
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 29, 2015
"And we will not be told we can't do it. We can end the AIDS epidemic!" Cuomo said to an enthusiastic crowd.
The governor said the state's plan will put the virus on the same list as polio, smallpox and other largely vanquished killers.
As WCBS 880's Sean Adams reported, a task force of activists and community leaders has been working on recommendations, including increasing access to clean syringes and PrEP, pre-exposure medication.
"If we can get people who are most at risk on prophylaxis, we also know that if we can get everyone who's HIV positive completely virally suppressed, they can no longer transmit the virus," Housing Works CEO Charles King said.
They will also work to identify the undiagnosed and link them with quality medical care and support services.
King is part of the task force that put forth the blueprint Wednesday, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.
"Complete syringe decriminalization; passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act; expanding Medicaid coverage for transgender health services," were just a few of the other recommendations, King said.
Cuomo said 153,000 New Yorkers have lost their lives to AIDS in the last 35 years.
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