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Stop making this so complicated, dramatic and tragic. A $20000/YR pill is not the solution. Remember, for the VAST majority of cases, HIV is completely preventable. Take it from a 55 yo man who's been HIV poz for over 30 years - only have SAFE sex and don't use illegal drugs with shared needles. It's that simple. Really.
And the POZ website continues to only show a young white male model in an ad for PreP. POZ is happy to point the blame for low uptake among people of color and women at everybody but themselves.
I wish I could be as gung-ho as others are about the information contained in this article. What chills me is the implication that a black gay man, especially a Southern black gay man, may be assumed to be not taking care of his health and is a carrier for HIV. As black men we face enough societal exclusion for being black and gay; now we face the likelihood of being perceived as even less desirable to date or to have sex with because statistics indicate we are lining up to take some pill.
While I get some the barriers causing this disproportional use of Truvada, the days of Tuskegee and a lack of information are over. There is a large presence of black workers within the prevention and medical services, no one is pulling off the crimes of the past, in other words, the mistrust is misplaced. Non-adherence seems to be the real issue here. Why? Fix that and I think the main bulk of the problem is solved. But regardless of my opinion....great article with a refined overview.
Beautiful article. Agree with John Mulholland that we must all step up, take part. Have called a local Boston agency, volunteered. Shame on this nation.
This is splendid reportage. Thank you so much. As a gay non-black man living in NYC, you have touched me, deeply. As no doubt your piece has touched so many others. But we who are touched now must take action. Decrying the ugly, draining reality won't make this evaporate. I, each of us, must now take part, joining those on the front lines, doctors, counselors, social workers; however best our individual talents can best be utilized. Naive, perhaps, but no less real for that. John Mulholland
We're doing our best to get the word out! @PrEPsquadDC on Instagram and Twitter www.PrEPsquadDC.org
preventionvolunteer
If ending the epidemic were as simple as "michaelinsocal" imagines, new HIV infections in an informed place like San Francisco would have dropped below one per day long before 2014 -- the year that significant local PrEP uptake began. https://www.sfdph.org/dph/files/reports/RptsHIVAIDS/AnnualReport2015-20160831.pdf#page=19 Promoting condoms helps, but only to a point. PrEP (and better health insurance access, which fosters TasP) are worth supporting, if we care to stop the spread of HIV.
August 5, 2017 • San Francisco