The first point to make is that it's in many ways a bad comparison. COVID-19 is much easier to catch, but the fatality rate is low. In the 80s the fatality rate for AIDS was 100%. We had no reason to think it would change so we thought we were all going to die. That's different.
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I have no medical insights: I'm a doctor, but I'm not that kind of doctor, a point some of my colleagues would do well to remember. Yes, that's a subtweet. But I do have experience of living through something like this.
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I think a lot of people will die from COVID-19. Many of you are saying that "only" old people will die. In the AIDS crisis there were also many people saying that "only" people who didn't matter would die. It was ugly then and it's ugly now. Don't be like this.
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I think everyone has a right to live. Even old people. Even gay people. And as someone who is now old and still gay, I take it personally. If you disagree, you're a monster and my first piece of advice is don't be a monster.
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When things get bad, and it seems that they may get very bad, it is hard to do the right thing. Try always to conduct yourself in such a way that you will not be ashamed of yourself later.
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You will probably take a number of risks. Both for yourself, because you have to live your life, and because you cannot bring yourself to desert people you love when they are in need. And not just people you love. This is OK. We all did it. Don't make yourself miserable about it.
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You will not always know what to do. Guess, and hope for the best. Often the best thing you can do is to ask yourself what you hope people would do for you.
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Be good to the sick and be good to yourself too. You are a person living your only life. In order to live through something like this, you need, for your own sake, to live during it.
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To speak personally now, if I managed, somehow, to live through the AIDS crisis only to die of this I will be displeased. But I hope to live through it. I hope we all do.
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I will probably regret this thread. I'm not sure I've said anything useful. But I thought I would offer what I know, and if this thread convinces you that I care about your well being, my Twitter friends. then it was definitely worth it.
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Please don't regret this thread. Everything you've said is more than useful. It's radiates heartfelt compassion, which is sorely needed in these trying times.
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