QueerClick Open Forum: Your Thoughts on PrEP

Unfortunately, the HIV epidemic among gay men in wealthy countries (that’s us, guys), is not only continuing, but accelerating, with the rate of annual new infections spiking all over the world (Ireland, for example, recorded its highest annual amount of new infections among gay men in 2013 than ever before). That worrying fact indicates that some of us – of either status – are taking more risks, and that’s probably because some of us are less frightened of HIV than we used to be. And that’s understandable, given that newish pharmaceuticals make HIV not quite the nightmare it was in the 1980s and 1990s.

Now, some are advocating that HIV-negative men who think they are at high risk of infection should regularly take the medicines used by some HIV-positive people, as this is though to lower a person’s chances of becoming infected. This is known as PrEP (Pre Exposure Prophylaxis). Like every medication there is a risk of side effects. Also, like condoms, PrEP won’t be effective unless it’s used correctly and consistently. And, unlike condoms, PrEP costs several thousand dollars per month per person, so a high income or a sympathetic health insurance policy is assumed, and not everybody has either or both of those. On the other hand, some argue that since many gay guys are just not using condoms, an exploration of the potential benefits of PrEP may be worthwhile.
Everyone seems to have an opinion on PrEP — and rightly so, given that it taps straight into volatile arguments about condom based safe sex — and we’d like to hear yours. This week’s article at Slate about PrEP is a classic example of how the treatment tends to be overpromoted by its supporters (the article is saturated with generalisations and exaggerations, not least the writer’s claim that PrEP is a “miracle”) but also how the many gay men who have a different point of view are energetically and intelligently articulating their reservations about PrEP (check out the lively comment thread!)
Our last HIV-related Open Forum was a really worthwhile conversation, so we though to ask today: What are your thoughts on PrEP?