Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, is excited about the new Eliminate Hepatitis C (HCV) program put forth by the Biden Administration and being led by former NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, who is serving as a scientific advisor to the Biden Administration. “This is something we have been asking for years…We know we can end hepatitis C,” Schmid stated.
On World Hepatitis Day, Contagion Live community podcast featured HIV+Hep’s Carl Schmid discussing the challenges in the fight against viral hepatitis: “Every 30 seconds someone is dying of hepatitis, & the sad thing is people don’t even know about it. Like HIV, there is so much stigma. . . . It all comes down to testing. This is an infectious disease, remarkably, that can be cured. But we need more resources.”
Provides an overview of historic and current federal efforts to end HIV in the US, including HIV strategic plans and the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, and discusses prospects of future efforts under the Biden administration and the 117th Congress.