Young gay Latinos see a rising share of new HIV cases, leading to a call for targeted funding
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is years into an initiative to end the nation’s HIV epidemic by pumping hundreds of millions of dollars annually into certain states, counties and U.S. territories with the highest infection rates
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Four months after seeking asylum in the U.S., Fernando Hermida began coughing and feeling tired. He thought it was a cold. Then sores appeared in his groin and he would soak his bed with sweat. He took a test.
On New Year’s Day 2022, at age 31, Hermida learned he had HIV.
“I thought I was going to die,” he said, recalling how a chill washed over him as he reviewed his results. He struggled to navigate a new, convoluted health care system. Through an HIV organization he found online, he received a list of medical providers to call in Washington, D.C., where he was at the time, but they didn’t return his calls for weeks. Hermida, who speaks only Spanish, didn’t know where to turn.
By the time of Hermida’s diagnosis, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was about three years into a federal initiative to end the nation’s HIV epidemic by pumping hundreds of millions of dollars annually into certain states, counties and U.S. territories with the highest infection rates. The goal was to reach the estimated 1.2 million people living with HIV, including some who don’t know they have the disease.
