Why do smart people still get HIV?
One of the biggest misconceptions about HIV is that it only happens to irresponsible people. The reality is that many of the patients I diagnose are some of the most educated, successful, and accomplished people I have ever met. I've diagnosed CEOs, lawyers, engineers, healthcare workers, and other doctors. HIV has never cared about how intelligent you are.
What HIV cares about is exposure.
In many ways, the people who have the most opportunities in life often have the most opportunities for exposure as well. If you're attractive, socially connected, successful, confident, and sexually active, you may simply encounter more situations where HIV transmission can occur. That's not a moral judgment. It's just statistics.
This is something we learned very early during the AIDS crisis. HIV didn't target the weakest members of our community. In many cases, it took some of the brightest, most talented, most creative, and most beloved people first. Entire generations of artists, activists, academics, professionals, and community leaders were lost. HIV was never a disease of intelligence. It was a disease of exposure.
What continues to drive HIV today is not a lack of intelligence. It's fear. It's shame. It's stigma. People delay testing because they're afraid of what they might find. People avoid PrEP because they're worried about being judged. People convince themselves that HIV happens to somebody else.
Until one day it doesn't.
The good news is that we are no longer living in the 1980s. We have tools that previous generations could only dream of. We have accurate testing. We have PrEP. We have highly effective treatment. We know that U=U. We have the ability to prevent HIV and, if diagnosed, allow people living with HIV to live long, healthy, normal lives.
The smartest thing you can do is not assume you're immune to HIV. The smartest thing you can do is know your status.
Get tested regularly. Protect yourself. Use PrEP if you're at risk. Have the sex you want to have and live the life you want to live.
— Sex Doctor Deano