The American people and government must radically change the way they think about fighting AIDS, the chair of the National Commission on AIDS said yesterday in a speech at Radcliffe.

Addressing an audience of more than 100, Dr. June E. Osborn argued that efforts to combat AIDS must be more focused on prevention and education. The most pressing problem is the lack of concern and the ignorance shown by the nation as a whole, she said.

"We have to change and begin using what we know," Osborn said.

Osborn's commission, which is an arm of Congress, advocates abstinence as the best way to prevent AIDS. She said government figures show 45,000 new people are infected with the HIV-virus every year, and the some of the greatest increases of AIDS cases are among young people.

Osborn, who is also dean of the University of Michigan's School of Public Health, said unsatisfactory health care, overcrowded prisons and the widespread use of drugs have made AIDS a plague that affects everyone.