According to recent reports from the website Live Science, California just became the first state to sell HIV prevention drugs in a pharmacy without a prescription written by a doctor. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion estimates around 1.2 million Americans live with AIDS, an incurable disease that develops after the individual is infected with the HIV virus. Despite these harrowing numbers, new treatments over the last couple of decades allow people with AIDS to live longer lives, and HIV prevention drugs have reduced the number of people being at risk. 

On October 7, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that allowed people to buy prevention drugs at pharmacies, which also prevents insurance companies from requiring “prior authorization” before using the insurance to purchase the drugs. 

One of the pills, called the pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP is used for those who want to prevent HIV infections. The other one, called post-exposure prophylaxis or PEp, is an emergency pill that people can take after a possible exposure to HIV in order to reduce the chances of infection. 

When PrEP is taken daily, it is 99% effective at preventing infections from sexual activity and 74% effective to the injection of drugs. However, the PEP must be started within 72 hours of possible exposure to the virus and must be continued for a span of 28 days. Rick Zbur, the executive director of the nonprofit organization for civil rights, Equality California, believes that this does not allow enough time for a person to get a prescription from a doctor. 

Before a person can purchase either drug, they are required to be tested for HIV or prove the pharmacist that they were tested negative for it within a week. From a news article from NPR, due to the concerns of long-term use without a doctor’s review, the bill limits the amount of PrEP that people can buy separately to 60 days. After that, they are required to visit a primary care doctor. 

In a statement by Gov. Newson, “Recent breakthroughs in the prevention and treatment of HIV can save lives. All Californians deserve access to PrEP and PEP, two treatments that have transformed our fight against HIV and AIDS.” Currently, about 30,000 people in California currently use PrEP and 6,000 use PEP, shown in a report by the California Heath Benefits Review Program. 

One of the two public health-related bills Gov. Newson recently signed lowers the cost of prescription drugs by preventing manufacturers from blocking the production of cheaper generic drugs. The other requires health care providers who care for pregnant black women to undergo bias training. 

All in all, many people support this idea including Gov. Newson, who stated, “I applaud the Legislature for taking action to expand access to these treatments and getting us closer to ending HIV and AIDs for good.”

Photo courtesy of LIVESCIENCE.COM