Important Dates

• February 7- National Black HIV/ AIDS Awareness Day
• February “2nd Week” - National Condom Week
• March 10 – National Women/Girls Awareness Day
• March 20 – National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• April 10 – National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day
• April 18 – National Transgender HIV Testing Day
• May 18 – HIV Vaccine Awareness Day
• May 19 – National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• June 5 – HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day
• June 27 - National HIV Testing Day
• August 29 – National Faith HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• September 18 – National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day
• September 27 – National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• October - National HIV/ AIDS Awareness Month
• October 15 – National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day
• November 28 - AIDS Memorial Quilt
• December 1st - World AIDS Day

HIV/AIDS Timeline

• 1981: The CDC diagnosed the first cases of AIDS-related disease among young gay men known as GRID (Gay Related Infection Disease).
• 1982: The CDC formally establishes the term “Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
• 1985: The Food and Drug Administration approves the first HIV Antibody Test.
• 1987: The Food and Drug Administration approves the first antiretroviral medication, zidovudine (AZT) as an AIDS treatment.
• 1991: Star Basketball player, Ervin “Magic” Johnson, announces that he is HIV positive.
• 1992: AIDS becomes the leading cause of death among men between ages 25 to 44.
• 1993: The Food and Drug Administration approves the female condom for sale in the U.S.
• 1996: The Food and Drug Administration approves the viral load test, which measures the amount of HIV in blood.
• 1997: AIDS related deaths in the U.S. decline by more than 40%, largely as a result of medications.
• 2000: President Clinton implements the Millennium Vaccine Initiative to develop a vaccine for HIV.
• 2002: The Food and Drug Administration approves the first rapid HIV diagnostic test kit for use in the U.S. that is 99.6% accuracy in as little as 20 minutes.
• 2007: CDC reports over 565,000 people have died of AIDS in the U.S. since 1981.
• 2009: President Barack Obama calls for the development of the first National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States.
• 2010: The U.S. Government officially lifts the HIV travel and immigration ban.
• 2012: The FDA approves the use of Truvada for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). FDA approves the first at-home HIV test that will let users learn their HIV status right away.
• 2015: The FDA approves first diagnostic test that differentiates between different types of HIV infections. The CDC announces that annual HIV diagnoses in the U.S. fell by 19% from 2005 to 2014. The FDA announces it will lift its 30-year-old ban on all blood donations by men who have sex with men.
• 2018: December 1st marks the 30th anniversary of the observance of World AIDS Day.

Local HIV/AIDS Facts

• 1985: The City of Laredo Health Department began providing HIV education and testing.
• 1985: The City of Laredo Health Department diagnosed the first case of HIV in Laredo.
• 1990: The City of Laredo Health Department began providing services to help treat HIV/AIDS.
• 2008: As of December 2007, the City of Laredo Health Department has tested 31,318 individuals for HIV and 427 have tested HIV positive.