Biden Says US Within Striking Distance Of Eliminating HIV Transmission

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published December 02, 2021 | 02:00 AM

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd December, 2021) President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that the United States has come very close to eliminating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission.

"We are within striking distance of eliminating HIV transmission, within striking distance," Biden said durin� remarks on World AIDS day.

Biden noted that since President George W.

Bush launched the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program in 2003, more than 20 million lives have been saved.

At this time, the United States has a roadmap to end the ongoing HIV epidemic by the year 2030, Biden added.

According to HIV.gov data, about 1.2 million people in the United States have contracted HIV while 13% of them do not know about it. In 2019, the US authorities estimated 34,800 new HIV infections in the United States.