AZT was approved in 1987 as a last-resort drug for critically ill AIDS patients due to its extreme toxicity. But in 1989, Fauci's NIH announced that all 1.4 million healthy HIV-positive Americans should take AZT based on a trial stopped after only 16 weeks. The drug's toxicity was severe — causing anemia, neutropenia, and organ damage. ACT UP activists initially protested Fauci's handling of the AIDS crisis before eventually collaborating with him. The long-term effects of mass AZT prescription remain debated.