CDC reports that people under age 25 - though they comprise just one-third of
the US population - account for about half of all new US HIV infections. "[Young
people] see it as a chronic thing - they think they can take a pill, so what's
the big deal?" said Adele Webb, executive director of the Association of Nurses
in AIDS Care. "The only person they know with it is Magic Johnson, and as far as
they know he's doing fine."
Most HIV-positive young people acquired the infection sexually, CDC reports. While young gay white men still represent a significant number of patients, black people now account for more than half of the new infections. CDC epidemiologists continue to document cases of younger and younger patients.
Don Maison, president and CEO of AIDS Services of Dallas, noted that many young people feel invulnerable. In addition, today's young people have not experienced the AIDS-related deaths of friends, said Paul Scott, executive director of the Resource Center of Dallas.