Why HIV prevention is still out of reach for many people in rural BC

published on February 7, 2018 by Niko Bell, in Xtra

PrEP may be free now, but who can access it?

Soon after Nagata Prescott began dating an HIV-positive man, he received a rare offer. He could take a drug that would prevent him from contracting the virus — for free.

This was two months before the BC government agreed to pay for the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug that effectively protects people from getting HIV.

Prescott was invited to join a targeted PrEP program. Run by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, it aimed to track HIV outbreaks, and offered PrEP free to everyone near an epicentre.

At first, the 24-year-old gay man living in Kelowna, BC, hesitated. After all, his boyfriend had an undetectable viral load; he knew he couldn’t contract the virus from him. But when Prescott realized how few young gay people in his part of the province knew about PrEP, he decided to take it anyway. He wanted a conversation starter.

Among queer youth in Kelowna, BC’s largest city outside Metro Vancouver, Prescott says there’s little chance to learn anything about PrEP.

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St. Paul's Hospital 608–1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-8477 | Fax: 604-806-9044
General inquiries: info@bccfe.ca
Media inquiries: communications@bccfe.ca
(Please do not use any of these email addresses to send personal information or book an appointment. To book appointments or contact the H2H clinic, please call 604-416-1517 or fax: 604-564-4893. Do not send your or your client's personal information via email.)

© Copyright BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
St. Paul's Hospital 608–1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-8477 | Fax: 604-806-9044
General inquiries: info@bccfe.ca
Media inquiries: communications@bccfe.ca
(Please do not use any of these email addresses to send personal information or book an appointment. To book appointments or contact the H2H clinic, please call 604-416-1517 or fax: 604-564-4893. Do not send your or your client's personal information via email.)

Our work serves clients and communities across British Columbia on lands and waters cared for and nurtured by the many distinct First Nations across the province. The BC-CfE humbly and gratefully acknowledge the stewards of these lands, particularly the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) on whose unceded, traditional and ancestral territories our offices are located.