Have you heard of PrEP? Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis is a revolutionary drug helping to prevent HIV infections across the country. PrEP is a daily ingested pill that works through the combination of two medicines that together prevent HIV from establishing permanent infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the medication to at-risk populations: anyone in an ongoing relationship with an HIV-positive partner, gay or bisexual men who engage in anal sex without the use of condoms, heterosexual women who do not use condoms during sex with partners of unknown HIV status and illicit drug users who share needles.
While PrEP is revolutionary and life-saving, it certainly isn’t a vaccine and much is still unknown about its effects. Known side effects are slight nausea and upset stomach. The Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked approval for massive release, leading many to question its safety. The seemingly “magical” pill seems too good to be true. The short-term gains of mass release may lead to negative long-term effects. Physicians should take caution when prescribing the drug, taking care that only people at the highest risk consume it regularly.
The widespread prescription of PrEP is problematic in that it adds to the illusion that unprotected recreational sex is now safe. Rampant prescription of such a poorly researched drug is dangerous. This pill is not meant to be used as a substitution for other preventative measures, but as a complement to condoms and other tools.
Unfortunately, the problems that plagued the gay community in the late ’70s and early ’80s that led to the massive infection of millions with the HIV virus are starting to rear their ugly heads once again. HIV and AIDS became the “gay disease” in part because gay men ignored the need to use protection due to the obvious lack of possibility for pregnancy. Once HIV and AIDS started to spread, millions died due to the deadliness of the virus and lack of knowledge. Now over 30 years later, for the first time a prescription drug has been approved in an effort to prevent the infection altogether. With the introduction of the drug and increasingly relaxed attitudes toward casual sex, many people are forgetting that the possibility of infection remains high.
This expensive prescription often ends up only helping the people who can afford it and use it for the wrong reasons. Porn production companies are handing out the drug like candy to allow for creation of films featuring “bareback” scenes, portrayals of anal sex without the use of condoms. These portrayals set an example that unsafe sex is permissible. The porn industry must acknowledge the dangerous effects of such examples on impressionable young gay viewers with no memory of the deadliness of the AIDS epidemic.
The creation of PrEP is a step in the right direction to fight the devastating AIDS virus. However, it must be remembered that this pill is not a vaccine and not a cure-all. Ensuring that people still follow safe sex practices when partaking in recreational sex is crucial and cannot be forgotten. The pill is not a substitute. If you feel you are a high risk for contraction of HIV, do your research on the pill yourself before you decide to take this preventative measure.