This piece was published by the Daily Hive Vancouver on November 16, 2022. It is written by Bradford McIntyre, an HIV patient advocate who operates www.PositivelyPositive.ca. 

Read the full piece via the Daily Hive Vancouver.

AIDS Vancouver Editorial Note: This piece was published prior to the Health Canada approval of a second injectable HIV treatment, lenacapavir (Sunlenca) in November 2022. Lenacapavir must be taken alongside another type of HIV treatment available as a daily pill.


I have been living with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) for 38 years, and have had an undetectable viral load (less than 40 copies/mL) since 1998. Both of these facts are possible because of activism, community care, and HIV medications.

BC has been my home for 28 years. I chose to live here because this province, and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), has led the charge in HIV treatment innovation throughout the epidemic: the development of HIV triple-drug combination therapy called “highly active antiretroviral therapy” (HAART), and for developing the Treatment as Prevention Strategy (TasP), which has linked patients to care, treatment and prevention. Working together with numerous community organizations, the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS has saved the lives of thousands of HIV-positive people and reduced new HIV infections.

The tools that are available today have come a long way since the initial introduction of effective HIV treatment antiretroviral therapies (ART), in the 1990s.

The first reported cases of AIDS were 40 years ago, with no HIV treatment until 1987. The first treatment (AZT) was ingested every four hours. I knew I couldn’t possibly adhere to that regimen. In 1990, I started treatment twice daily, but I was unable to tolerate the drug and developed severe side effects.

Read the full piece via the Daily Hive Vancouver.

AIDS Vancouver Editorial Note: This piece was published prior to the Health Canada approval of a second injectable HIV treatment, lenacapavir (Sunlenca) in November 2022. Lenacapavir must be taken alongside another type of HIV treatment available as a daily pill.