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The health secretary says he’s serious about tackling infection. But there are basic inequalities in who accesses PrEP treatment • A drug can stop HIV infection – so why isn’t it available on the NHS in England?
“May you of a better future, love without a care,” wrote the artist and film-maker Derek Jarman in his final year. It’s a line that returned to me last month as I rode the Eurostar back to London with my colleagues, Marc and Phil. After meetings with sexual health activists from across Belgium, Marc took out the pill-holder he keeps in his pocket when he travels, and swallowed the medication he takes every day. Doing so reminded Phil and I that we should do the same, each of us gulping down a generic formulation of a tablet called Truvada. This, as Jarman would say, is our better future.
The pill regime is called PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). Marc, who was diagnosed with HIV more than 30 years ago, towards the end of his teens, takes the pills to keep him healthy and well. Taking the pills also means he can’t pass on HIV to any sexual partners. Phil and I, who don’t have HIV, take the pills to prevent us getting it should we be exposed. Continue reading...