COVID deals setback to New York’s AIDS reduction goals

The arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 dealt a significant setback to New York’s goal of ending the AIDS epidemic that year, according to the state Department of Health.

In the summer of 2014, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the goal of reducing the number of new infections to below epidemic levels by the end of 2020. The pandemic has forced the state to revise its timelines, with the goal now targeted for the end of 2024.

“We were really getting there,” said John Hartigan, project director for HIV and Aging at the DOH.

“COVID did set us back a little bit, but I know that we’re ramping up efforts again,” he told The Capitol Pressroom. “We’re back on track to actually to meet our goals.”

Because of a lag in how HIV/AIDS data is collected and reported, New Yorkers likely won’t know until 2025 if the revised timeline is accomplished.