C. Everett Koop resigns the right way because of Reagan inactivity on AIDS

C. EVERETT KOOP, MD, SCD

https://www.hivlawandpolicy.org/sites/default/files/The Early Days of AIDS, As I Remember Them.pdf

' . . . But, for reasons of intra-department politics that I can still not understand fully, I was cut off from AIDS discussions and statements for the next five years. . . '
C. Everett Koop was the U.S. Surgeon General during the Reagan administration.

What if he says to chief-of-staff James Baker, "I need to be able to do my job."

Most likely, Baker agrees with him. But then Baker may or may not be able to bring about enough change. So, Dr. Koop says, "I need to be able to attend all meetings related to health, and participate."

If Baker can't deliver, Koop gives his 2-week notice. That's doing it the right way.

--------

And Oh, Yes, C. Everett Koop will be going public.
 
And very importantly, if Everett has any kind of good marriage, he and his wife talk about this as it's going on.

A spouse of a whistle blower really appreciates being informed ahead of time, and not just told after the fact.
 
https://www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/overview

In March [1987], the FDA approved the first antiretroviral drug, zidovudine (AZT), as treatment for HIV.
And AZT had serious side-effects and was by no means a miracle cure, but it was a start.

With more public discussion, do we get better drugs sooner? Maybe not, because we moved pretty quickly as it was. But on the other hand, . . . maybe we can pull it off.
 
Last edited:
AIDS Study Casts Doubt on AZT as a 'Miracle Drug'

Los Angeles Times, Sheryl Stolberg, June 9, 1993

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-06-09-mn-1225-story.html

' . . . found that while CD4 counts are a reliable way to predict how rapidly an HIV-infected person will develop AIDS, they said little about how well AZT worked. That is because patients who took the drug had counts that remained high yet developed illness at the same rate as those who took placebos.

'The three-year Concorde study followed 1,749 HIV-infected people, 877 of whom were given AZT and 872 of whom were given placebos until they developed AIDS symptoms, when they were given the drug. . . '
So, it gets complicated over how much AZT is helping and whether it's only helping some people.

Since the question is whether or not to prescribe AZT for persons HIV+ but pre-symptom, doing 50-50 between drug and placebo and then switching to real drug if and when person develops symptoms seems like the right way to do it, at least to me. Of course, I welcome further discussion.
 
AIDS Study Casts Doubt on AZT as a 'Miracle Drug'

Los Angeles Times, Sheryl Stolberg, June 9, 1993

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-06-09-mn-1225-story.html

' . . . The two other so-called "nucleoside analogs" are ddI and ddC; researchers are now studying how these drugs work in combination with one another as well as in combination with other experimental therapies. . . '
And this may have been the precursor to the triple-drug cocktail just two years later in 1995!

-----------------------------------------

or the more formal names . . .

https://www.healthline.com/health/hiv-aids/understanding-the-aids-cocktail
' . . . In 1995, a combination drug treatment known as the “AIDS cocktail” was introduced. This type of therapy is now known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). It’s also called combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) or simply antiretroviral therapy (ART). . . '
 
Last edited:
https://pflag.org/our-story

‘ . . . By 1980, PFLAG, then known as Parents FLAG, began to distribute information to educational institutions and communities of faith nationwide, establishing itself as a source of information for the general public. . . ’
Not every parent has it in them. Or, it’s too jarring finding out their child is lesbian or gay. And/or they don’t or didn’t see a way of achieving their dream of having grandchildren (nowadays much more attainable!).

All the same, this is an example of something we had going in our favor OTL.

I’m asking what if C. Everett Koop had continued to work in medicine, just not in the Reagan administration. What if a person of his stature had gone public early and often as a source of solid middle-of-the-road information, “Here’s what we know, Here’s what we don’t know,” regarding HIV and AIDS?
 
Last edited:

Philip

Donor
Health Minister?

Secretary of Health and Human Services is probably closer to Health Minister. The Surgeon General reports to the Assistant Secretary of Health, who in turn reports to HHS. SG is head of the Public Health Commission, a uniformed service. As the head of a uniformed service, the position is usually seen more as an implementer, rather than maker, of policy.
 
Secretary of Health and Human Services is probably closer to Health Minister. . . .
Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is one of 15 cabinet positions in the U.S. executive,

plus 7 other persons with cabinet level status,

with the president’s chief-of-staff being the only one who doesn’t need Senate approval.
https://ballotpedia.org/Donald_Trump_presidential_Cabinet

——————————

Plus, U.S. president has a variety of informal advisors, which I think is probably a good thing.
 
https://books.google.com/books?id=l...Whatever Happened to the Human Race.”&f=false

“ . . . a $1 million production entitled Whatever Happened to the Human Race? The four-hour documentary, released in 1979, featured both Koop and Francis Schaeffer . . . ”
One reason the Reagan administration nominated C. Everett Koop was because he was anti-abortion.

Some evangelicals and Catholic conservatives were later disaspointed that he didn’t use HIV and AIDS as an occasion for obvious moralizing. Others thought he did the right thing by focusing on health.

13459.jpg

Oct. 20, 1989

I think this is a more middle-of-the-road Christian publication.
 
Last edited:
Secretary of Health and Human Services is probably closer to Health Minister. The Surgeon General reports to the Assistant Secretary of Health, who in turn reports to HHS. SG is head of the Public Health Commission, a uniformed service. As the head of a uniformed service, the position is usually seen more as an implementer, rather than maker, of policy.
I don’t think it’s this cut-and-dried. For example, I’ve heard the Surgeon General informally called “America’s Doctor.”
That is why i thought he was the Health Minister(just US people and their strange titles) but seems is very prestigious in that way
 
One reason the Reagan administration nominated C. Everett Koop was because he was anti-abortion.

But as S-G, he refused to issue a report saying that abortion causes health problems for women, saying the evidence simply didn't back that up. I saw an interview with him about that, and he said that the anti-abortion movement should focus on the issue of fetal life, not maternal health.
 
That is why i thought he was the Health Minister(just US people and their strange titles) but seems is very prestigious in that way
I'd say prestigious enough.

Like a lot of jobs, it's what you make it. Plus factors such as, are the issues you're already good at on the upswing to becoming bigger issues?

PS I find parliamentary system titles interesting, but kind of strange, too. ;)
 
But as S-G, he refused to issue a report saying that abortion causes health problems for women, saying the evidence simply didn't back that up. I saw an interview with him about that, and he said that the anti-abortion movement should focus on the issue of fetal life, not maternal health.
Good for him! This shows intellectual honesty. :)
 
So, when Everett goes to James Baker or Ed Meese or Mike Deaver (who were the big three in the Reagan administration)

and says, "I need to be able to do my job." Well, if Dr. Koop resigns with cause, they're going to take a hit with people who voted for Reagan in part because of his anti-abortion views. And this includes:

Northeast Catholics (who were part of the "Reagan Democrats")

Southern evangelicals such as Baptists.
 
Koop in 1981
4750.jpg

https://onih.pastperfectonline.com/photo/97A4A8CD-ED92-4178-B546-947031525218

———————-

Koop_Testify.jpg

Koop in 1988,
testifying before House and Senate Joint Economic Committee
https://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?cid....edweek.org/v1/blog/147/index.html?uuid=30890

So, he also had the sailor’s beard—even the Lincolnesque beard—going in his favor!

And sometimes older people giving sensible advice about sex are well received. I mean, look at Dr. Ruth (younger AH members may not know who she is).
 
I love Dr. Ruth! It might be common knowledge by now, but she was trained as a sniper.
I did not know that.

I just it shows that there’s war time and then there’s peace time. I guess if you’re targeting who you’re pretty damn sure are combatants. Still not crazy about it.
 
Top