HIV Prevention Pill Promoted For Women In Citywide Campaign

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS -- As HIV cases reach record lows in New York City, there's one category in which the numbers are still on the rise: Women - particularly, women of color.

While the city's number of HIV diagnoses dropped overall by a record-breaking 8.6 percent from 2015 to 2016, they rose by 5 percent for women, according to the Health Department. Black and Latina women made up more than 90 percent of the new cases.

On Tuesday, the Health Department launched a women-focused HIV prevention campaign led by its Women's Advisory Board in hopes of reversing those numbers.

The board - which aims to improve HIV prevention, care and treatment in NYC - blamed the increase in women's infections on the lack of information about the virus and came up with the city's first female-focused project to promote an HIV prevention drug called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PreEP).

“There are many elements to ensuring HIV prevention tools are accessible to people who need them most, and chief among them is a resounding and direct message that PrEP is an option for women, specifically women of color,” said Women's Advisory Board Member Marcella Tillett.

The Health Department launched the campaign at Planned Parenthood's Diane L. Max Health Center in Long Island City. It will encourage women to try PreEP through advertisements plastered across local newspapers, subway cars and stations, bus stops and shelters and social media.

“When it comes to combating HIV, it is important to use every tool available,” said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. “That’s why it is important to raise awareness about PrEP and its effectiveness in reducing the risk of HIV infection.”

Data on the city's PreEP users suggests such awareness is largely missing among women, and experts agree.

"PreEP has been shown to be highly effective in preventing HIV, but awareness and uptake among women has remained low," said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, deputy commissioner for the Division of Disease Control.

Only 21 percent of the city's sexually active Black and Latina women had heard of the pill in 2016, compared to 85 percent of gay and bisexual men, according to the Health Department. And a study of the city's ambulatory care practices found that while PrEP prescriptions increased by 976 percent from 2014 to 2016, only around 5 percent were written for women.

"Every woman - especially cisgender and trans women of color - must know about all HIV prevention options and be able to choose what prevention tool makes them feel safe and comfortable," said Deborah Levine, also on the Women's Advisory Board.

The "Living Sure" campaign is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's "Ending the Epidemic," plan to end NYC's HIV outbreak by 2020. The plan launched in 2015 with a $23 million investment to reduce HIV and STI infections by expanding clinical service and hours at the city's sexual health clinics.

“While we have made historic progress in reducing HIV diagnoses in this city, we will not rest until that progress is felt equally in every community,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett.

To get PrEP, talk to your doctor, call 311,or find a provider on the NYC Health Map.

Lead photo courtesy of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.