US: AIDS Healthcare Foundation comes after PrEP in new ad campaign
Last Friday, The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, one of the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organisations, announced it would be launching a full scale media campaign against the over emphasis of Truvada.
AHF president Michael Weinstein said: “As such, we want the public to know that the government-sanctioned widespread scale up of PrEP appears to be a public health disaster in the making.”
AHF’s major concern is that the medical adherence of those involved in the trials was lacking.
Weinstein stated: “Even in carefully monitored clinical trials, in which people were counseled monthly, had blood samples drawn and were even paid to participate, many study participants simply did NOT take Truvada every day as prescribed.”
According to AHF a false sense of security from Truvada could lead to another, greater outbreak or expose individuals to other sexually transmitted infections. Weinstein hopes that as people contemplate the use of the pill they remember that adherence and continued condom use is key to the drug’s success.
The publication of the clinical trials is meant to illustrate how the drug’s efficacy can be compromised by a lack of prescription adherence.
Weinstein said: “We don’t tell our doctors not to prescribe it or doctors in general not to prescribe it. But as for a public health measure, you have to look at the data from the studies.”
Recently, celebrities and activists have come out both for and against the use of PrEP. Porn mogul Michael Lucas has spoken out about his use of the pill, endorsing Truvada as the biggest boon to HIV/AIDS prevention. While author Larry Kramer said there is something cowardly about using the drug as a replacement for condoms.
Currently appearing in limited publications, AHF plans to expand the campaign to larger markets.
