What About New York City?

San Francisco isn’t the only spot vying to end the HIV epidemic. Whether they call their efforts Ending AIDS, 90-90-90, or Getting to Zero, cities and states nationwide are making plans to get there. But how an area defines their end goal, may make a big difference in outcomes.

 San Francisco, for example, aims to reduce HIV transmission and HIV-related deaths by 90 percent before 2020. Meanwhile New York State’s goal is to reduce the number of new HIV infections to just 750 (from an estimated 3,000) by 2020. Initially, the goal in New York is to get the total number of new HIV infections to fall below the number of HIV-related deaths. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s three-point plan to decrease new HIV infections also relies on TasP, PrEP, and linkage to care. 

San Francisco, so far, is closer to their goal: While 60 percent of HIV-positive San Franciscans were virally suppressed in 2013, only 43 percent of HIV-positive New Yorkers were. 

Of course, with a population of 8.4 million, New York City is much closer to Los Angeles County (population 10.2 million) than San Francisco (837,000). The HIV epidemic facing these incredibly diverse mega-metropolises is much more complex than the that of San Francisco’s largely whiter, older gay community.