"[AIDS] is a disease that must be cured not by a miraculous vaccine, but by changing hearts and minds, and through a collective effort to break down social barriers and to build bridges of compassion."
Elton John said so, as reported today by The Guardian, in explaining the reason for his writing a new book, Love Is the Cure, to come out in July.
According to The Guardian, John wants to "combat the stigma surrounding the disease, telling personal stories of friends he has lost – and those he has kept." Among those to be discussed: Queen's Freddie Mercury and Ryan White.
"Why are we not doing more?" John asked. "This is a question I have thought deeply about, and wish to answer – and to help change – by writing this book."
In recent months, however, vaccine talk has gotten significant coverage, including in The Washington Post, which on Jan. 4 described a new study about an "expiremental vaccine" that provides "further evidence that after decades of disappointment, scientists are making slow progress toward an AIDS vaccine."
