Both of you made a lot of good points. Based off of your discussion of stigmatization surrounding disease, I think it’s terrible that certain people were viewed as being more ‘deserving’ of catching a contagion like HIV/AIDS than others. The way that the nurse in 5B who caught AIDS was treated with more respect and sympathy that countless young people, who were looked down upon with hatred and disgust, is just horrifying. Members of the LGBTQ community with HIV not only suffered physically, but also mentally and emotionally from their rejection and isolation. It takes away from the randomness that accompanies times of plague. COVID-19 could have conceivably originated from anywhere; spreading blame to those who probably wanted a pandemic to start in their homes less than anyone else is not helpful or even justifiable.