This is an important q from @mynameisjro. The convo around physical distancing reminds me a lot of the pre-PrEP conversations about HIV prevention. THREAD but tl;dr u can shame as much u want, but it doesn't change the fact that our methods of COVID control are not sustainable.
I am NOT saying we should stop physical distancing. But the idea that we can ask people to not see friends, lovers, family etc. for a basically unlimited period of time is BS. Let's not repeat the mistakes of the HIV epidemic in our response to this plague. 2/n
1 of the reasons the HIV epidemic was allowed to run out of control in US queers starting in the early 90s is because we were more focused on shaming queer ppl than finding effective ways to prevent HIV. And a lot of that had to do with the shame around "barebacking". 3/n
Condoms obviously work really well, but we never knew how to make ppl use them enough to control the HIV epidemic for a long period of time. Even in the early 1990s, when AIDS deaths were peaking, condom use was declining. So what did we do? 4/n 
We went on a moral crusade about barebacking -- shaming those who got infected + we went on a witch hunt against condomless porn and, *every year*, the # of new HIV infections went up, even as the early PrEP clinical trials were threatened to be defunded. 5/n
Even when TDF/FTC PrEP was FDA approved in '12, and the first evidence of U=U was published, people in our community (like Larry Kramer) shamed those who used this, rather than trying to make it more available and stop more infections. 6/n
So how does this relate to COVID? We need to admit that as time goes on, many ppl will not be able to be as compliant with physical distancing as they were at the start of the outbreak. And as fun as shaming a bunch of instagays for partying, it won't solve the real problem. 7/n
We all should still try to physically distance as much as possible, but we need to be advocating for (a) methods of harm reduction for COVID, and (b) other more effective methods of COVID control, like widespread testing, COVID PrEP, and ultimately, a vaccine. 8/n
This is especially important, cuz our current approach of shaming, insufferable white instagays notwithstanding, will hurt black & brown communities the hardest. Already @NYPDnews is already using it as an excuse for police brutality against POC. 9/n thenation.com/article/societ…
So what can you do? ORGANIZE + ADVOCATE. We need the @NIH + @CDCgov to be more organized than they are to find better approaches for COVID prevention. E.g. I, working w/ @PrEP4AllNow and @covid19ny, am releasing a report soon on current R+D landscape for COVID-19 PrEP. 10/n
We now have effective methods of treatment and prevention for HIV, but that wouldn't have happened had activists not literally seized control of the @NIH to demand that our government work to protect our health. We need to do the same today. END
