Health agencies to offer free preventive HIV drug

Before year’s end, Central Floridians who are at high risk of HIV infection will be able to get the preventive drug Truvada at no cost at their local health departments.

The state health department rolled out the program last October as part of its efforts to reduce new HIV infections.

“Ensuring Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to those at highest risk for HIV infection, regardless of their ability to pay, is one of the four key components of the Agency’s plan to eliminate HIV transmission and reduce HIV-related deaths,” a health department spokesman said in a statement.

PrEP has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of contracting HIV when taken daily and in conjunction with other preventive measures such as condoms.

The state’s goal is to make the program available at all 67 county health departments by the end of the year, according to the agency.

In Central Florida, Seminole County officials said they’ll offer the PrEP program in the next two months. Orange County may have the program by April. Osceola County plans to make it available by summer. Lake County officials said they did not have a start date.

Nationwide, there were nearly 40,000 new cases of HIV infection in 2016. More than half of those cases were in the southeastern United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Florida has the fourth highest rate of new HIV cases in the nation, behind Washington, D.C., Georgia and Louisiana, with 5,000 new diagnoses, according to the latest CDC data.

In the Orlando-Kissimmiee-Sanford area, close to 670 new cases of HIV were diagnosed in 2016. As of 2015, about 11,000 people in the area lived with HIV.

The state PrEP program involves education, HIV testing, Hepatitis C testing, liver function testing, prescription of PrEP medication, and a 3-month follow-up, which includes additional tests and education on prevention behaviors such as safer sex and condom usage, according to the Florida Department of Health. Although the medication is free, there may be costs associated with the lab tests, based on the consumers’ income eligibility.