BY fREDERIC lARSON,WE CtfRONtClL

Surgeon General C. Everett Koop visited the new hospice for AIDSvictims in San Francisco

op Urges ,Reagan
Take the Lead
`War' on ADS


  U.S. Surgeon General C. Ev-
erett Koop called on President
RPagan yesterday to "assume a
ro!e of leadership" in fighting
tire AIDS epidemic.

  In a visit to San Francisco, the
@on's top physician also endorsed
`;r@onalplanning" on how federal,
st3te and local governments can co-
dr$linate thgir efforts against the
$&a*.

  "We've got to have long4erm
f,ina@al planning, the way you'd
pJ&&s +w to finance a y&$said
.gqf& ,&L&g@@ w-y&,
a$;+his is a war;"

Koop's, comrhents came in. ari
iriteeview on" the first .day of-his
thtee-day Northern Californirl tour
$t@gned ti heighten prtblti awar-
neg of the AIDS epidemic.

This morning, Koop and Nobel
Prize-wifiniqg scientist Dr. David
Baltimore are scheduled to address
a Joint session of the state Legisla-
tuT$. After the session, Koop plans
to meet with Governor Deukniejian.

  Koop'g comments about Rea-
gal3 came as scientists grow increas-
i,ngly critical about the lack of any
pr+idential statements abbut the
&$demic, which has claimed more
than 31,000 victims in America.

In the six years of the epidemic,
Reagan has publicly mentioned
AIDS only once. The comment came
gst year in response to a reporter's
question in a press conference.
Since then, the president has not
issued any other statement about
the disease or its victims.

At a press conference yester-
day with Koop, virologist Baltimore,
who in chairman of the National
Academy of Sciences' AIDS Task
Forve; said he hoped the publicity
abol!t the surgeon general's visit to
San Francisco will "embarrass the
administration into bringing the re-
scurces that are necessary to deal
with this epidemic forecefully."

"This is an issue which is impor-
tant and calls for presidential lead-
ktihip," Baltimore said 1at;er. "The
ef$?rt to stem the tide of AIDS will
n@t be complete until the president
a~r;irrts his leadership."

  Baltimore added, however, that
%llether the administration in the
form of President Reagan (does this)
Yccms dubious to me."

  Koop told The Chronicle that
an "elaborate series of plans" to
brief the president on the AIDS epi-
demic were formulated late last
year after the surgeon general cal-
led for massive education and pre-,
vention programs across the coun-
try.

  "That meeting has been post-
poned several times," Koop said, be
cause of the Iran arms scandal. An-
b&r mee&ingp with the president is
tifieduled for the end of March, he
said.

  If he were tilled into the presi-
dent's office this morning, Koop
said, he would ask Reagan "to as-
sume a role of leadership" in the
battle against the epidemic.

  "It's conceivable that at the end
of this month, he'll do it," Koop said.

  The surgeon general also said
the federal government could en-
courage the development of an
AIDS vaccine by issuing a purchase
order assuring  pharmac Utica1
       x
companies that the gover ment
would purchase enough vaccine
doses to make research profitable.

Koop described the plan, a
statewide version .of which was
adopted by fhe Legislature last
year, as "a good system."

In his first stop in San Francis-
co yesterday, Koop &+ured.a.Cas&o
&strict AIDS h&p&e &nd~-Iabded
the "pioneering role" that San Fran-
cisco has taRen in fighting the epi-
demic.

"We are not going to beible to
afford all the costs of taking care of
all the pqple with AIDS in hospi-
tals," said Koop after walking
through the Coming Home Hospice
6n'Diamond Str&t.

  "This is precisely the kind of
facility we are going to need in or-
der to.provide compassionate care
to the enormous numbers of people
who will be coming down with AIDS
in the years to come."

  Koop argued against sugges-
tions for mandatory AIDS testing,
saying it might "drive the epidemic
underground."

Koop's tour of Northern Cali-
fornia was organ&d by San Fran-
cidco' Assemblyman Art Agnos, who
used his appearances with Koop to
promote an omnibus AIDS he intro-
duced to the Legislature on Mon-
day. Among other things, the bill
would establish a state AIDS com-
mission to set priorities for AIDS
programs and funding.

In an appearance before physl-
cians last night, Koop said, "I would
hope what Art Agnos has proposed
to your Legislature becomes law."
The bill, he said, was "the model of
what could be done nationally."

Agnes' bill also would ban dis
crimination against AIDS victims.
When reminded that Governor
Deukmejian previously has vetoed
such legislation twice, Koop said the
issue was "on the list" of issues he
planed to'discuss with the governor
today.

After Koop's hospice visit yes
terday, a 29-Tear-old AIDS sufferer
cast the significance of the surgeon
general's Northern California visit
in m&e prosaic terms.

I San 3imcisco Qkonicle

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