Early in the year, the United States’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention and pharmaceutical company Gilead announced a partnership that would provide 2.4 million bottles of Truvada — the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug — to 200,000 uninsured individuals. However, details on how to get that free medication were not provided.
That’s now about change as the government has recently launched Ready, Set PrEP, a nationwide program aiming to distribute the drug used for PrEP. The launch, organized by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), included the launch of the website GetYourPrEP.com as well as the introduction of the toll-free number 1-855-447-8410 for those interested in applying.
Applicants should meet three qualifications to get their free PrEP. First, they must not have insurance coverage for prescription drugs. Second, they must test negative for HIV. Finally, they should have a PrEP prescription.
In a press release announcing the launch, the government called Ready, Set, PrEP “a key component of the Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE) initiative.” The initiative “aims to reduce the number of new HIV infections in the United States by 75 percent in five years and by 90 percent in 10 years.”
HHS Secretary Alex Azar called the program “a historic expansion of access to HIV prevention medication.” Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary for Health Brett P. Giroir, M.D. said the program would “increase access to this effective and preventive drug for people at risk.”
Aside from this news, the new year will also bring with it the market launch of generic Truvada. Teva Pharmaceutical, an Israel-based manufacturer of generic drugs, will release a generic version of the HIV prevention medication on September 30, 2020. This was the result of a settlement agreement reached between Gilead and Teva Pharmaceutical back in 2014.
What is the point? Is it an excuse to go barebacking? No one should be barebacking, so why is this needed?
It is not an excuse to go bareback. It is an insurance against someone intentionally sabotaging the condom in some sneaky seeding thing. I is a way to end transmission of a disease that has devastated families.
Free PreP, free liver cancer. What a bargain!
I’ll never date a guy on PreP. Never. The side effects are just as deadly in the long run as HIV. Anyone that can’t bear to use a condom is just a tool for the pharmaceutical companies. The idea that as long as one doesn’t get HIV, then catching every other STD is okay is beyond reason. Not to mention the liver, kidney and bone damage that will result from Truvada usage. Which is likely just the tip of the iceberg, as the body runs on interrelated cycles that will cause effects that will not be known without years of… Read more »
before the Prep was in the market for gay people once i date a gay man with HIV. And i totally agree with Henry i would never as well date a person with HIV those medicines they really mess your mind and body as well
And I totally agree with everything everyone has already said. It’s just becoming more and more of a slave to the pharmaceuticals “MAGA!!!!”
[…] administration’s plans with regard to HIV. Just a few weeks ago, the US government opened up applications for free PrEP by launching a website and a toll-free number. The free PrEP is itself the result of an agreement […]
[…] PrEP is much easier in the United States, especially with the US government’s recent opening of applications for free PrEP. To get free PrEP, applicants must not have insurance coverage for prescription drugs. Second, they […]
[…] This is the latest development in the ongoing efforts to provide better treatments that prevent the spread of HIV. Last year, the government of the United States started accepting applications for free PrEP. […]