“Since its arrival in 2012, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has revolutionized the fight to stop the spread of HIV. Its usage in the U.S. has climbed steadily over the last decade — from around 9,000 users to over 300,000, according to Center for Disease Control (CDC) data.
However, a grim reality sadly persists. Huge disparities exist in terms of who is accessing PrEP, and which communities are benefiting from the lowered HIV infection rates the 99% effective drug can bring. “Disparities in PrEP follow the same disparities in sexual health in the general population,” says DAP Health PrEP Navigation Manager Andrew Glorioso.
PrEP usage rates reveal deep-seated inequities along racial lines. In a 2024 study in the journal Health Equity, research from 2019 to 2022 that analyzed a pool of people deemed at high risk for contracting HIV found that among White people, 74% were accessing PrEP. In this same group, the coverage rate for Latinos was only 18.9%, and for Black people, just 10.3%…”
[Read the full article at daphealth.org]