Petrelis Files

WHERE'S THE CDC REPORT ON STOP AIDS?
[A hard copy of this letter has been mailed to various officials at both Health and Human Services in Washington and CDC in Atlanta. -MP]
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April 1, 2003

Julie Gerberding, MD
Director
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30333


Dear Dr. Gerberding:

Last year at my request you agreed to investigate the effectiveness of the Stop AIDS Project to prevent new HIV infections and other sexually transmitted diseases among sexually active gay men in San Francisco. As you know, the Stop AIDS Project receives funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the purpose of the investigation was to determine if the project is successful at stopping HIV and STDs.

I hereby request that under the provisions of the federal Freedom of Information Act, you release the CDC report on the effectiveness of Stop AIDS Project HIV prevention efforts.

In August, four CDC investigators came to town to evaluate whether the project's prevention programs were scientifically sound.

Eight months later, you and the CDC have not issued a report about the investigation, and I wonder why it is taking so long for you to release to the public the findings of the investigation.

Now, more than ever, with San Francisco experiencing alarming and skyrocketing rates of new HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and hepatitis infections, along with the outbreak of a drug-resistant staph infection, the gay community and the public need to know if Stop AIDS Project's CDC-funded efforts are effective means of prevention.

On the surface, it appears to me that the CDC is suppressing its report on the Stop AIDS Project's use of federal funds. I find it hard to believe that CDC needs any more time to write the report or evaluate the project.

If CDC is not suppressing the findings, then I ask that you immediately release the CDC report on the Stop AIDS Project's prevention programs. Issuing the report will also show that you are serious are about providing accountability over CDC's HIV prevention programs at the local level.

The lives of many gay men hang in the balance, as HIV and STD rates surge to alarming levels. Please release the Stop AIDS Project report by the end of the week.

Sincerely,
Michael Petrelis

2215-R Market Street, #413
San Francisco, CA 94114
Phone: 415-621-6267
Email: MPetrelis@aol.com

cc:
Tommy Thompson, Health and Human Services
Dr. Joseph O'Neill, Office of National AIDS Policies
Dr. Dave Weldon, US House of Representatives
Gaylon Morris, Executive Secretary to Dr. Gerberding
CDC FOIA Office