Friday marks National HIV Prevention Day, established by PrEP4All in 2018.
This is a day to reflect on the public health strides and the work that still lies ahead for equitable HIV prevention.
For too long, a lifesaving medication that can prevent HIV has been inaccessible for many in Georgia, especially people in the Latino community.
Fortunately, people at risk for HIV can take comfort in knowing that healthcare just got easier.
A new law will increase access to preexposure prophylaxis medication, more commonly known as PrEP, for thousands of Georgians.
Senate Bill 195, which had bipartisan support in the state legislature and was the collective effort of community advocacy groups like the Georgia RxEACH Coalition and Georgia AIDS Coalition, passed Georgia’s legislative body this year, making it possible for people to pick up PrEP at the pharmacy.
The law went into effect on July 1 and promises to boost access to strengthen the public health of Georgia.
Latino population is disproportionately represented in new diagnoses
Credit: Hand
Credit: Hand
As Georgia’s Latino community grows faster than any other ethnicity in the state, so do HIV diagnoses among Hispanic/Latino men. This increase is most saturated among gay metro Atlanta residents aged 18—34. PrEP uptake across the South remains significantly lower among Black and Latino residents compared to their white counterparts, and we will not close this gap without centering equity.
Latinos make up 31% of HIV diagnoses in the United States, despite representing 19% of the U.S. population, due in part to long wait times to see a physician or trouble finding a Spanish-speaking doctor that provides HIV care outside of traditional clinic hours.
PrEP is a safe and effective way for people at risk of HIV to protect themselves by preventing the spread of HIV.
It is a quick and easy way to stay healthy — taken either through daily oral medications, injections administered every other month or injections administered twice yearly.
Pedro Viloria from the Latino Community Fund Georgia said: “For many in Georgia’s Latino community, accessing PrEP has meant navigating long waits for a Spanish-speaking provider, clinic hours that conflict with shift work and paying high prices out-of-pocket. These structural barriers have kept a lifesaving tool out of reach.”
By allowing pharmacists to prescribe PrEP directly, this new law removes several hurdles at once. While this new law does not solve every inequity, it can bring prevention closer to where people live, work and need it most.
Georgia joins other states where pharmacists can legally prescribe PrEP. This law will save lives and was made possible by the persistence of community partners. While there is more work to be done, it’s important to celebrate such important progress.
Edric Figueroa is the director of LGBTQ Initiatives at the Latino Commission on AIDS/Latinos in the South, a nonprofit based in Atlanta.
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