Why I'm Proud to Be on PrEP

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released a report stating that one in six men who have sex with men (also known as MSM) will acquire HIV in his lifetime. While these rates are staggering, the rates are even higher for MSM of color. One in two black MSM and one in four Latino MSM will test positive for HIV, with the statistic being only one in 11 for white MSM. 

According to the CDC, the demographics most at risk of acquiring HIV are youth and young adults aged 13-24. This, of course, is partly due to younger men typically engaging in riskier sexual behavior. But that's not the full story. This generation — my generation — did not grow up in the time of the AIDS epidemic. We were too young to remember what it was like during the '80s and '90s, and my knowledge of the epidemic stems from readings, movies like The Normal Heart, and stories from my uncle who said about half of his friends died from AIDS during this time. He even changed his career and whole outlook on life because of the epidemic. In the early '80s he was a consultant and, as he says, "a real asshole," who only cared about money. When he realized and accepted that he could drop dead at any moment, he looked inward to see if what he was doing was really making him happy. The answer was no, and he changed careers and became a kinder person.

Instead of being distressed by the news, Jonathan Mermin, director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention, said these new statistics are “a call to action.”

We are lucky to be living in a generation where HIV is no longer a death sentence. HIV is now a manageable chronic illness. The average life expectancy of a 20-year-old, HIV-positive person starting antiretroviral (ARV) therapy today is 69, which is decades longer than it was 20 years ago. That said, HIV is preventable, and something we as members of the LGBT+ community, need to work towards eradicating.

My goal isn’t to incite mass hysteria. I agree with Mermin. This is a call to action. There is a drug, Truvada, which can be used as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). It exists, and if taken daily, PrEP is 90-99% effective (depends on the study) in preventing HIV acquisition.  I’d go as far to call it a miracle drug. And a new study conducted claims that taking Truvada daily is as safe as taking aspirin daily. Yet, only 21,000 people in the US are on it, despite the CDC's recommendation that 1.2 million people should be using PrEP (including all high-risk MSM). We have the tools to make a change. We need to start asking our doctors to prescribe us Truvada. We need to educate the people who aren’t on it. We need to talk about it openly. I’m on Truvada and I believe every sexually active MSM should be too. It’s time for us, as a community, to speak up.

I am #PrEPandPROUD. Are you?