Eric Smith was diagnosed with HIV 21 years ago. The East New York, Brooklyn resident says it’s been a struggle, but he is grateful it never developed into AIDS. He feels for those who were not as lucky as he was.

“In 1999, people were dying from the virus. Now, today the medicine they have for us, it’s much more better now,” said Smith. 

Smith marked World AIDS Day at a vigil at Woodhull Medical Center. It was one of many events held at the hospital, and around the city, to remember those who died.

“I don’t want nobody else to go through what I’ve been through and what I’m going through,” said Smith. 

This World AIDS Day is being commemorated in the shadow of another global health threat: the coronavirus. 

Woodhull's Dr. Yusuf Afacan sees parallels in the fight against HIV/AIDS and COVID-19.

“Initial reaction, the hopelessness, you don’t know what’s going on. You have limited medication in your arsenal, but as the time goes by with HIV, we start to have more and more medicine; Same thing now is happening with COVID,” Dr. Afacan said. 

The city-run Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens was at the epicenter of the pandemic back in the spring. Dr. Maurice Policar says this World AIDS Day feels especially meaningful because of how both HIV/AIDS and COVID have changed the city.

“It’s taken cOVID much less time to kill a lot of people, but there was a lot of social unrest, a lot of fear, a lot of spreading when asymptomatic. There are similarities,” he said. 

As for Smith, he just feels lucky to be alive. 

“It’s God up above, man. You think there’s not a God up above something’s wrong, because there is a God up above,” Smith said. 

He says he has not contracted coronavirus, and is thankful for HIV treatments that have improved his quality of life, and, more importantly, kept him alive.