ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. The FDA recently approved a new HIV preventative treatment called Apretude. It became available in February.<\/p>\n
The injection of Apretude, like other PrEP medicine, is given to prevent a person from becoming infected with HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS.<\/p>\n
Love the Golden Rule clinic in St. Petersburg is the first in the Tampa Bay area to administer the new drug.<\/p>\n
\"This is a brand-new front. You know, we're on a new track here in HIV care,\" said Dr. Bob Wallace, owner of the clinic.<\/p>\n
The drug is available for men, women and adolescents.<\/p>\n
\"The other thing we need to talk about is that PrEP is available for heterosexuals as well,\" said Dr. Wallace.<\/p>\n
WFTS<\/p>\n
Being prescribed PrEP usually means taking a pill every day, but Dr. Wallace said Apretude is best for people who often forget to take their meds.<\/p>\n
It's considered groundbreaking in the fight to prevent the spread of HIV, but Dr. Wallace is concerned that the people who need it most can't get it.<\/p>\n
\"The challenge with this new drug is it's not going to be available to those people because of the cost and the fact that Medicaid doesn't cover it.\"<\/p>\n
Without insurance, patients will pay about $5,000 for each injection, which is once every two months. A price that Dr. Wallace said should eventually come down.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, health officials are trying to get more people on PrEP by prescribing Descovy and Truvada, which are pills.<\/p>\n
The CDC said less than half of all gay and bisexual men take advantage of PrEP, even though most insurance companies pay for some or all of the costs.<\/p>\n
\"I have to continue to encourage people to remember that we do have the oral available now and that those medications are over 99.5% effective in reducing the risk of HIV infection,\" said Dr. Wallace.<\/p>\n
The Food and Drug Administration approved the oral version of PrEP in 2012.<\/p>\n
More information on PrEP, which prevents HIV:<\/p>\n
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Continue reading here:<\/p>\n
In-depth: New HIV preventative treatment recently approved by FDA - ABC Action News Tampa Bay<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Continue reading