Use of New HIV Test in New York City Will Help Focus Resources, Bring Accountability, Editorial Says
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R), by employing the use of a new HIV test that can determine HIV infection within the past six months, is "bringing to AIDS prevention the rigors of Compstat -- the method the [New York Police Department] used to produce the lowest crime rates in more than 30 years," a New York Daily News editorial says (New York Daily News, 3/16). Bloomberg last week announced that he wants to make New York City the "national model" for meeting the federal goal of cutting new HIV infections in half by 2005. As part of the plan, the city will employ the "state-of-the-art" blood test, which will provide "invaluable information" regarding certain prevention efforts (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 3/14). The use of the new test will allow the city to "[i]dentify the problem, ... [b]ring resources to bear on the problem ... [a]nd ensure that those entrusted with turning things around -- the city, community organizations, medical providers and people living with HIV/AIDS -- are held accountable," the editorial says, adding, "Fighting this epidemic requires all hands on deck." While HIV/AIDS "is no longer a death sentence," that is "no excuse for complacency, for ignoring the calls to practice safe sex," the Daily News continues, adding, "Those infected must get proper care so they can live their lives to the fullest and with dignity." The editorial concludes that Bloomberg "must ensure that city agencies work as one to fight this scourge" (New York Daily News, 3/16).
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