How To Survive a Plague, a documentary directed by David France, provided an informative medium to display the passionate fight against AIDS. By utilizing interviews, past footage, and the in depth stories of Peter Staley and Bob Rafsky, the struggles that ACT UP and TAG were depicted perfectly.
One of the most fascinating things that this documentary touched upon was the issue of drugs being available to the people. The first of many problems caused by the availability of drugs was when AZT was approved. Although AZT wasn’t a cure, it was treatment, which looked promising. Other than the fact that it costed $10,000 a year.
Having such a high price on one of the only treatments for AIDS, at the time, caused much dispute. Of course people weren’t happy and wanted a more affordable alternative. It was obvious. The thing is, the F.D.A. didn’t release anything else because there wasn’t enough data on other treatments. More drugs, D.D.I. and D.D.C. was then allowed by the F.D.A. under the the pressure of ACT UP.
A few years later down the line, a study shows that AZT and the other two drugs were practically useless. In the documentary, Staley explained in an interview that these drugs wasted the money of taxpayers. It was also assumed that ACT UP’s goals were short-sighted.
Playing devil’s advocate, this whole situation raises the question: was it premature to release drugs just because a community needed it? Some can agree that the F.D.A. released AZT on their own, but others can think that it was to please the community. AZT may have needed more testing and more time to provide definitive results. The same could be said for the other drugs too. Then again, an argument can be made that the drugs were needed in the movement against AIDS.
A balance might be found if the F.D.A continued conducting trials without releasing the drug, but allowed people, who were terminally ill, to take the trail drug at their own risk.
Discussion Question: Is the process of getting a drug on the shelf really too long? Or is it just necessary?
