PrEPPED and Proud: How You Can PrEPare to Stay HIV Negative

By Drew Wilson

At this moment, there are about 12,300 Coloradans who are living with HIV - including 9% who are undiagnosed and unaware of their infection. And anywhere from 325 to 400 more of us are newly diagnosed every year. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that HIV infection in Denver is down about 60 percent overall since 2005 thanks to strategies like the Fast-Track Cities Initiative (did you know the city of Denver has pledged to end AIDS by 2030?) and the use of antiretroviral drugs. These antiretroviral drugs do an excellent job of treating people with HIV, driving their viral loads down to the point where they are undetectable. And an undetectable viral load makes it very, very difficult for people who are HIV-positive to spread the virus to anybody else.

And now for the best news of all. Right now it’s easier than it’s ever been for those who are currently HIV-negative to stay that way. It’s called PrEP.

What is Prep? PrEP is Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis - the process of taking daily medication to prevent HIV infection. That medication is Truvada, currently the only medication currently approved for PrEP by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. When taken daily, it is over 90% effective in preventing HIV transmission. Pretty amazing.

Compare that to condoms, which, while up to 99% effective in laboratory conditions, can be much less effective in the real world - especially for gay men. At a 2013 conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections results were presented that showed that the effectiveness of condoms for MSM who use condoms can be as little as 70%, according to an article at POZ.com. Yikes. Not to mention that condoms aren’t always at hand, can be used incorrectly or hinder sexual performance, and, of course, there are plenty of guys out there who just don’t like them. For those men, a daily Truvada pill is an easy, effective solution.

“Current data suggests that most people in the gay community in Denver know about PrEP but that only a small number of people are actually on it,” says Mark Thrun, a Denver-based MD who is the Associate Director of HIV Medical Sciences for Gilead Sciences, the makers of Truvada. “It speaks to an enormous gap that hopefully getting the word out about will help us all remedy. There are thousands of people in the Denver area who could benefit from PrEP or at least a discussion with their medical provider about going on PrEP.”

So how do you get on PrEP? It’s pretty easy. Just bring it up to your healthcare provider. Doctors and medical professionals sometimes don’t know we exist or know a lot about our specific concerns as gay men but the more we come out, the more we start talking about our issues and concerns, the more these providers will become comfortable talking about the things we want and need to talk about. Advocate for yourself and don’t be afraid to shop around a little bit, because Colorado has a number of PrEP-friendly providers.

Currently, very few Colorado insurance providers do not pay for PrEP. So if you’ve got insurance, payment should not be much of a barrier. For people without insurance it is a little more challenging but there are financial assistance options available, so don’t give up. For more information on financial assistance and PrEP, visit http://www.proudtobeprepped.com. You owe it to yourself, your partner, and your community to learn as much as you can about PrEP and HIV prevention. 

HIV & PrEP: Denver Brings It Up

Let's talk. No, let's really talk. About HIV. While we have come far, gay and bisexual men continue to bear the greatest burden of this disease in Colorado. Nearly four of out of every five individuals newly diagnosed with HIV identifies as a gay or bisexual man. We still have more work to do to get that number to zero. Let's work together to change the future of HIV/AIDS by talking about testing, PrEP and staying in care.

Since talking about HIV in the heat of the moment can be a buzz kill, why not bring it up before you get it up? By bringing it up, everyone wins.

HIV & PrEP: Denver Brings It Up

Let's talk. No, let's really talk. About HIV. While we have come far, gay and bisexual men continue to bear the greatest burden of this disease in Colorado. Nearly four of out of every five individuals newly diagnosed with HIV identifies as a gay or bisexual man. We still have more work to do to get that number to zero. Let's work together to change the future of HIV/AIDS by talking about testing, PrEP and staying in care.

Since talking about HIV in the heat of the moment can be a buzz kill, why not bring it up before you get it up? By bringing it up, everyone wins.

December 1 Marks World AIDS Day: Denver Public Health Supports PrEP as Tool to Reduce HIV Transmission Rates

Dale Britt and Brian LeMaire have been together for 26 years. For all but one of those months, Brian has been living with HIV. And, in all of their years together, Dale has never tested positive for the virus.

The first day of December is World AIDS Day, providing an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, support people living with HIV, and remember people who have died. It also provides an opportunity to increase awareness of and support for prevention tools, including the use of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) for HIV.

A person who does not have HIV uses PrEP to prevent themselves from becoming infected if they are exposed to the virus. The medication (Truvada) is taken once a day, and it works by limiting HIV’s ability to enter into and grow within a person’s body. When used correctly, PrEP has been shown to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing HIV. PrEP is just one tool that will reduce transmission rates of HIV. Other forms of prevention include testing, counseling, adherence to treatment among people living with HIV, and education. 

Dr. Mark Thrun

“PrEP is not prescribed lightly, and we require the person using it to commit to counseling, correct use, and routine HIV and medical testing,” says Mark Thrun, MD, director, HIV/STD Prevention and Control, Denver Public Health. “But when we have this commitment, we know that PrEP is incredibly effective in keeping those at increased risk for HIV free from infection.”

Denver Public Health recommends PrEP for people who do not have HIV infection and are at increased risk for HIV, including:

• Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men who engage in unprotected sex.
• HIV-negative individuals (men and women) who have an HIV-positive sexual partner.
• Injection drug users.

Dale and Brian lived through the advent of HIV care as we know it today – antiretroviral therapy (ART). The road was not always easy. And though the couple lost many friends to HIV along the journey, they always remained optimistic and never gave up the fight against HIV. Earlier this year Dale began taking PrEP, a step that both he and Brian felt was not only important for their future, but also for a future for Denver in which there are no new cases of HIV or AIDS. 

HRC Endorses PrEP, Calls for Bold Action to Expand Access to Anti-HIV Drug

In a policy paper released today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, explicitly endorsed the use of Truvada for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP is any medical or public health tool used to prevent the spread of a disease or infection prior to exposure. Truvada is the only brand name anti-HIV drug combination currently approved for PrEP, which protects against HIV but no other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). When taken as prescribed by a knowledgeable healthcare provider, and paired with other safer sex practices, Truvada can reduce the risk of contracting HIV by upwards of 90 percent.

“PrEP is a dose of hope, taken once daily. Today, there is an unprecedented chance to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States, in part through PrEP’s aggressive prevention of new HIV infections,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “There is no reason—medical or otherwise—to discourage individuals from taking control of their sexual health and talking to their doctor about PrEP. Bold action must be taken to guarantee affordable access to this life-changing regimen.”

It is important to note that HRC’s recommendation applies especially to populations deemed most vulnerable to HIV infection. Truvada is not right for all individuals, and any medical decision should be made in concert with a knowledgeable healthcare provider.

HRC joins AIDS United and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis Center (GMHC), as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), in endorsing PrEP. HRC is pairing its announcement with new calls for insurers, regulators, and Truvada’s drug manufacturer to take bold steps to reduce costs, educate the public, and adopt a goal of universal access for all medically-qualified individuals—regardless of socioeconomic background.

Read HRC’s policy paper here and find out more information after the jump.