BC will now offer a daily drug that prevents HIV – for free

‘We got it done, and I think it’s a good decision,’ says BC health minister

In just a few days, gay and bisexual men in British Columbia, and others at risk of contracting HIV, will have free access to a drug that significantly reduces the risk of getting infected.

After months of studying the question, the BC Ministry of Health will begin covering PrEP at no cost on Jan 1, 2018, through the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

Studies show that people who take PrEP (or pre-exposure prophylaxis) every day are at almost no risk of contracting HIV, and are unlikely to develop side effects.

The government’s decision to cover PrEP is a major victory for gay men’s health advocates in the province, who say access to the drug will bring down stubbornly high infection rates among men who have sex with men – who make up more than half of new HIV infections in BC – and curb an uptick of HIV infections among young gay men.

While Ontario and Quebec already subsidize PrEP through their provincial drug programs, BC will be the first Canadian province to offer it entirely for free.

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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