How to Survive a Plague Page #5

Full A.Z.T. Treatment is too

much for patient Peter Staley.

For nine months, he's been limited to a

quarter-dose of the drug, and wants D.D.I.

As soon as possible.

Do you need D.D.I.

To live, do you think?

Yes, I need, I need D.D.I.

I probably need some other

anti-virals beyond that.

It is historic, it is because

the AIDS activist community

has obtained this drug.

It is not the government, no one

has given it to us, we have

fought for it, and for the

first time, we have won.

So, by '89, less than a year after our F.D.A.

Demo, they had

approved a drug to prevent

blindness in people with AIDS.

And we had gotten expanded

access to D.D.I., and that was

a very powerful feeling.

We felt like we were taking direct

action and we were helping make

people's lives better.

I wasn't sure that A.Z.T. Or D.D.I.

Were all that great,

but we were beginning to get

letters from people that said,

"thank you for saving my

eyesight, " " thank you, ACT UP,

for getting me access to D.D.I.

And helping to save my life."

At Merck, HIV was an

important scientific target.

HIV, of course, is a virus.

In order for the virus to infect

an uninfected cell, it needs to

construct itself in

a particular way.

First, the viral RNA needs to

transform itself into a DNA copy

in order to knit itself into the nuclear

DNA of the newly infected cell.

This occurs by a process

called reverse transcription.

- A.Z.T. And D.D.I. Were both

- Originally developed to try to

inhibit that process of

establishing infection.

A number of other researchers

began to focus on another

portion of the viral life cycle,

after the cell is already infected.

One of the steps that it takes is that is...

it makes a viral

protein, it has to snip that viral

protein in very specific places.

The resulting pieces self-assemble

to make the viral particle.

And what does the snipping,

and what in fact controls

the snipping is a viral

protein called the protease.

If you genetically modify the

viral protease so that it can no

longer snip, the virus no longer

has the ability to make those

component pieces that it

needs to make in order to

self-assemble, and make an

infectious viral particle.

We solved the structure

of HIV protease in 1989,

and published it pretty quickly.

I think, I think we saw the

structure and within a few weeks

it was in the literature.

And then the question became

"all right, can we prove it?"

Can we prove it that that is

in fact the case, and most

importantly, can we prove that

if you inhibit that protease,

if you knock out its activity,

that the virus can no longer

replicate, and therefore make new

progeny viral particles that

would then go on and establish

a new cycle of infection.

AIDS is now the leading

cause of death for men

under 44 in New York and a

half-dozen other cities,

surpassing homicide and

all other diseases.

Yet Roman catholic bishops are

meeting this week to publicly

oppose the use of condoms

as morally unacceptable.

This puts them in direct opposition to U.S.

public health policy.

The new church position

condemns not only the

immorality of condoms, but

their effectiveness, as well.

The draft under consideration in

Baltimore this week says it is

quote, "a virtual certainty that

reliance on condoms will result

in transmission of AIDS."

Of the bishop's proposed new

policy, New York City health

commissioner Stephen

Joseph says...

This would be a

public health disaster.

It would undoubtedly lead to

more transmission, particularly

in high-risk areas of the city,

more disease and more death.

Catholic conservatives say not

just physical death but spiritual

death is at issue here.

As New York City's archbishop,

John cardinal O'Connor put it...

The use of prophylactics is

immoral in a pluralistic society

or any other society.

I think that's it except, of

course, we have Ann Northrop

giving her sound bite technique.

Uh, we want everybody to join

us, to support us, to destroy

the power of the catholic

church, to make our side the

strong one, and to do that,

we must put out the message

that we are the ones who are

fighting for people's lives,

and they are the murderers.

Don't be afraid of the media.

You're talking through

them to the public.

We are trying to arouse,

to anger an action.

And hone it down to, yes, a

three-second bite, a five-second bite,

just a phrase that will have an

impact, that will say something

specific and that will

be understandable.

So...

I don't have a, uh, phrase

worked out, and, uh, so you're

all gonna have to create your

own, so this is empowerment.

ACT UP!

ACT UP!

Answer me,

sweet Jesus

won't you help me?

Please, you're interfering

with us, step back.

This is Jesus Christ.

I'm in front of St. Patrick's

cathedral on Sunday.

We're here reporting on a major AIDS

activist and abortion-rights activist

demonstration, which will be

taking place here all morning.

Inside, cardinal O'Connor is

busy spreading his lies and rumors about

the position of lesbians and gays.

We're here to say we want

to go to heaven, too.

J.C. Here with the fire and

brimstone network, and we'd like

to ask you a little bit about this large

vision that you've visited upon us.

Well, we've decided to

rename the cardinal.

He's now cardinal O'Condom.

This is our message to him that

condoms are safe, it's no sin.

Stop killing us!

Stop killing us!

Stop killing us!

We're not gonna take it anymore!

You're killing us!

Stop it!

Stop it!

Stop it!

Stop it!

Stop it, stop it!

Stop it!

How many more have to die?

How many more have to die?

Saving lives is morally right!

Those protesting

believe that the protests

will result in some change of

environment, some change

of attitudes, perhaps.

The church will be teaching that

homosexual activity is sinful,

until the end of time.

That won't change.

This is July 22nd, 1989.

Now Sara, what do you think

about your dad being 44?

Good.

Thank you, thank you

for your support.

One, two, three.

Yay... We did it.

A lot of smoke.

Oh, boy.

I wish those candles

would stop smoking.

It's bad for their health.

That's right.

Okay, Robert Rafsky, do you have

any remarks before you jump off

the edge of the porch?

I have no interest in jumping

off the edge of the porch.

I will jump up and down.

I think 44 is a very fine age.

It has a nice symmetry to it,

it has a nice feeling to it.

It's, uh, better than 22 and

possibly better than 88.

We'll see.

Here's how we planned this.

What we want to do is run this

like a treatment and data meeting.

A number of times we've had

people come to a treatment and

data meeting and speak on

certain issues.

We try to get in depth, we

try to nail issues down.

This isn't a free-for-all.

Let's call it a working

confrontation.

So, why don't we start?

This is Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Bob Rafsky.

I may be wrong, Dr. Fauci, but

it's my understanding that

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