A Guide to HIV Prevention for the New Decade

HIV is a manageable chronic disease and is more preventable than ever before! From getting tested and knowing your status, to preventative options like PrEP and PEP, here are a few options to consider adding to your HIV prevention toolkit!

Get Tested. Getting tested for HIV and STIs is the first step in anyone’s HIV prevention journey. Depending on a person’s sexual health practices and activity, getting tested every 3-6 months can go a long way in preventing HIV and STIs. Untreated STIs make it easier to become positive after an exposure to HIV, so it is important to get tested.

Learn about Whitman-Walker Health’s testing hours and locations at whitman-walker.org/testing. Walk-in HIV and STI testing is available at the below locations, but be sure to check our website for the most up-to-date hours!

  • Max Robinson Center, 2301 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE
  • Whitman-Walker at 1525 14th Street NW
  • Whitman-Walker Youth Services, 651 Pennsylvania Avenue SE

If you receive a negative HIV test result, ask about PrEP. PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is a daily pill that can prevent HIV. According to the CDC, when taken every day, this pill can prevent a person’s chance of HIV infection that is transmitted through sex by about 99%. Learn more at PrEPforDC.com! Contact Whitman-Walker’s PrEP team at 202.939.7690 or prepclinic@whitman-walker.org.

PrEP may be a good HIV prevention tool for you if you:

  • Have been diagnosed with an STI in the last 6 months.
  • Are sexually active and don’t always use external or insertive condoms.
  • Are unsure of your sex partner’s HIV status.
  • Are HIV-negative and are sexually active, or have a sex partner who is living with HIV.
  • Identify as someone who injects drugs or are having sex with partner(s) who inject drugs.
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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below