In a conversation with Brian Vines for a Twenty Summers podcast in 2021, Fran Lebowitz was asked about “the strange balance and continuum” between AIDS and the current COVID crisis. She stopped him and said, “Not at all. People ask me, ‘This is like AIDS, right? It’s nothing like AIDS.’”

I often encounter those who assume the AIDS crisis was like the COVID pandemic. It’s understandable, particularly for younger generations, but it’s misguided to view both pandemics in the same light.