The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that PrEP among at-risk men increased 500 percent between 2014 to 2017. And those numbers are expected to rise following Gilead Sciences’ new commitment to donate up to 2.4 million bottles of Truvada to the CDC by 2030 (which amounts to 200,000 per year).
The study is one part of the government’s “Ending the HIV Epidemic” initiative, seeking a 90 percent reduction of new diagnoses by 2030. But while the numbers for PrEP use and awareness are encouraging, there are still growing concerns.
Black men in particular practice PrEP in fewer numbers than at-risk white and Hispanic men. Furthermore, only one in three people at risk of contracting HIV practice PrEP, a prevention strategy that when taken accordingly can make it virtually impossible to contract the virus. Truvada is the only FDA-approved drug to be prescribed as PrEP. People who are prescribed Truvada must see a physician every three months for testing and follow-ups.
The CDC study specifically studied 18,610 gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in 20 urban areas. Researchers found that 7,873 of the men had a negative HIV test and, within the last twelve months, also been sexually active with at least one person living with HIV, had two or more sexual partners, had practiced condomless anal sex, or reported a bacterial STI such as syphilis, gonorrhea, or chlamydia.
Overall, there were substantial increases of PrEP awareness and PrEP use across the board, but there remains large differences between ethnic and socio-economic groups. For example, among white and Hispanic men who have sex with men, the study found PrEP use at 42 percent and 30 percent, respectively. But that percentage drops to 26 percent among Black MSM.
The difference between white and Hispanic men becomes negligible when weighted for income, access to health insurance, and region. However, the rate among Black men remains disproportionately low when weighted for these factors.
Education and income were also key escalators for PrEP use and awareness, with a 39 percent usage rate among MSM who had seen a provider within the last twelve months.