PEOPLE throughout B.C. are benefiting from expanded coverage for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), as strong uptake for the publicly funded drug continues to grow.
“The expansion of coverage for PrEP and PEP keeps B.C. at the forefront of fighting the spread of HIV and AIDS,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “By supporting the introduction of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS’ Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, the lifesaving drug cocktail that changed the face of HIV, our province continues to sees a consistent decline in new cases of HIV.”
Since B.C. introduced no-cost coverage of PrEP, and expanded access to PEP for those at high risk of HIV infection on January 1, 2018, over 2,000 people have been prescribed the potentially life-saving medications. Celebrating this milestone together, the B.C. government and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) will continue working to reduce the number of new HIV infections in B.C., by providing expanded coverage of PrEP and PEP throughout the province, according to a press release.
The expansion of coverage for PrEP and PEP in B.C. added a new resource to the BC-CfE’s Treatment as Prevention (TasP) program. When the program reaches 5,000 individuals, the BC-CfE believes the province will achieve a greater than 83% reduction of new HIV cases by 2026.
“With the expanded access to PrEP and PEP, we are making important investments to the publicly funded health system, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because people depend on us to help them live their healthiest possible lives, and that is something we’re committed to do,” added Dix.