Reviewing RFK Jr.'s bad book on Fauci - Chapter 4

AZT safety and efficacy:

Song used for outro: Funky Party by Lobo Loco

[kirthanks]

some very interesting and important history from both sides of the planet

[hawaiianrobot]

Your Granny sounds like an amazing woman. It's so incredible that anti-retroviral therapies are available, but efforts definitely need to be made to make them more accessible to communities like the ones you have mentioned.

[siridharmatyacke]

Thanks so much for this work. I live in Johannesburg and I taught yoga in the early 2000s to the children at Cotlands orphanage. Most of the kids were born HIV positive. They were dying. In one year alone 6 children in my yoga class died and I spent time with the other kids trying to integrate and remember the dead children. I would visit the hospice with my guitar and sing to children who I would find out died the next day. It was a profound teacher for me about holding my own grief and how to let go of children that I loved. And then the home got the first antiretrovirals and, my goodness, the kids stopped dying. At the time I took one of the children into my care (at age 4 he was almost in full blown AIDS) and the ARVs saved his life. Now he is a 25 year old healthy young man taking his ARVs daily and going from strength to strength. I too feel anger when I take in what RK is saying. Thanks for speaking out and holding the light to what is true and right. Much appreciation.

[brianlecloux]

That is an excellent description of how AZT works! thanks!

[Lily-Bravo]

I can't say I "enjoyed" this video, But it needed to be done and I feel so sad about what you have told me about what has happened in Africa. Thank you so much for your work.

[IMSerious]

Thank you for your thorough and meticulous presentation. It is profoundly disturbing that a major publishing company would allow a personal vilification like RFK’s book to circulate under it’s banner.

[DebunktheFunkwithDrWilson]

Toward the end of the video I misspoke. I started saying, "Denying in this day and age ... that AZT and other anti-retroviral drugs are poison..." I meant to say that it's disgusting for RFK Jr. to *claim* that AZT is poison. Just wanted to clarify that.

[hrlincoln]

Why isn't there an organized effort to boycott Simon and Schuster for publishing this dangerous piece of garbage?

[RichardGoth]

I'm so glad I listened to the end...huge props to your Granny. RFK is a vile person. Thank you so much for continuing to expose him!

[tomahawkx]

Powerful story at the end. RFK Jr. shouldn't just be ashamed, he (and all the other deniers) should be held responsible.

[mlynn]

Thank you so much for debunking the RFK nonsense Dr. Wilson!

[martinurbani]

Thank you for continuously debunking all that bullshit.

[Liberperlo]

Very touching moments at the end. I came of age in the late 80s and 90s and have my own strong feelings about AIDS and its impact on lives. We all need to hear about what is happening in Africa. The usual media doesn't highlight the continuing impact HIV has on the African continent, South Africa, and Eswatini.

[wsaville]

As a scientist at the NIH during this period, who worked on AZT in the Broder/Mitsuyasu/Yarchoan laboratory, you have given a very accurate description of the environment of that time. The NIAID did get a bit of a slow start on AIDS, but after the National Cancer Institute at the NIH identified HIV (Bob Gallo) and showed the clinical efficacy of AZT (Sam Broder/Bob Yarchoan) they began to pour effort and funds into the area to great success. Some of this was due to the work of ACT UP and Larry Kramer pressuring Fauci, but most was due to the institute correctly prioritizing research for a deadly disease. Thanks to you for your excellent and accurate description of the realities of AIDS research, and the egregious and pitiful stories that RFK Jr spews out. (BTW, a minor comment: zidovudine is pronounced “zuh-DOH-vyuh-DEEN”, although most people still say “AZT.”

[jamescutler]

Thank you so much for taking the time to make videos like this one. I am so glad people like you exist. I can’t believe how awful the misinformation is from RFK. It’s so depressing.

Thank you so much

[wednesdayschild]

This is so sad. My 75 year old friend read that book. She did not get vaccinated. Now she has heart failure after getting covid. She still is not listening and taking her medicine.

[jacquesduranceau]

Thank you for your work. It is appreciated.

[randymautz]

Thank you for the awesome work you do. You deserve an award for having to read RFK Jr’s book

[IMSerious]

Thanks for your thorough and meticulous presentation. Very informative and comfortable to follow for a lay person. It is profoundly disturbing that a major publisher can allow a colossal personal vilification like RFK’s book to go ahead under it’s banner.

[ChrisMcSweeney]

Lindsay Ellis' video essay on the musical 'Rent", called "Look Pretty and Do as Little as Possible" has a great section on ACT UP and the Reagan administration's failure to tackle AIDS. Great watch if you've not seen it.