NEW YORK — The city commemorated the 33rd World AIDS Day with events across the five boroughs, including candlelight vigils in Brooklyn and on Staten Island.
Health care workers, patients and community members gathered Wednesday morning for a vigil at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull in Bedford-Stuyvesant that marked four decades since the first cases of AIDS were reported in the United States. The hospital became the first NYC Health + Hospitals facility to be designated an AIDS center in September 1993, Health + Hospitals said in a press release.
In Manhattan in the evening, the American Run for the End of AIDS and GMHC hosted a candlelight vigil at the AIDS Memorial in Greenwich Village:
Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, local groups held a World AIDS Day vigil on Staten Island that began at an immigrant workers' center and ended at a synagogue on Post Avenue. Organizers said while science and medicine have made a tremendous impact to treat what was once considered a death sentence, education and awareness surrounding HIV and AIDS must never be taken for granted.
The most recent data available showed that more than 2,500 people on Staten Island were living with HIV in 2019, the organizers added.
The city health department on Wednesday released a report that found new HIV diagnoses in the five boroughs dropped 21% from 2019 to 2020 — amid a 76% decline since 2001 — but noted that the COVID-19 pandemic "likely impacted diagnoses, laboratory testing and HIV care."
In honor of #WorldAIDSDay, today we released the 2020 HIV Surveillance Annual Report, which shows continued progress toward ending the #HIV epidemic in NYC. According to the report, new HIV diagnoses declined 21% from 2019 to 2020 and 76% since 2001: https://t.co/5RQptA5d3T pic.twitter.com/PiosZXYAFI
— nychealthy (@nycHealthy) December 1, 2021
The report found that 1,396 people in New York City were diagnosed with HIV in 2020, although health officials acknowledged reduced HIV testing and laboratory services contributed to the total last year.
"The decline in new HIV diagnoses marks another milestone in our long fight against the HIV epidemic in New York City and represents a model for the nation," New York City Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said in a statement. "While the fight against HIV has become more challenging in the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we remain focused on our efforts to reduce stigma, discrimination and inequities that put people at risk of HIV infection, particularly people of color."
Thirteen New York state landmarks, including One World Trade Center and the Kosciuszko Bridge, are to be lit red Wednesday to mark World AIDS Day.
"World AIDS Day is a very solemn time for us to remember those we have lost to the HIV epidemic, as we raise awareness of this tireless battle that continues to this day," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. "Even now, despite the progress we've made, people living with HIV continue to feel the pain of the stigma attached to this virus, and by lighting New York's landmarks we can take a moment to honor the 700,000 American lives that we have lost due to AIDS-related illnesses and recommit ourselves to ending the AIDS epidemic once and for all."