Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH is an infectious disease specialist with a focus on LGBTQAI communities. He is the Acting Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, deployed from his position as the Director of the Division of HIV Prevention in the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at CDC.
This video is a joint production of KFF’s GREATER THAN HIV and CDC’s LET’S STOP HIV TOGETHER. This information is shared for educational purposes and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. The views expressed are those of the featured medical professional and reflect information available to that professional at the time of filming.
Always consult a healthcare provider for any personal health decisions. The marks “CDC” and “Let’s Stop HIV Together” are owned by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services and are used with permission. Use of these logos is not an endorsement by HHS or CDC of any particular product, service, or enterprise.
TRANSCRIPT:
I'm so glad someone asked me this question. I've been wanting to talk about this.
PrEP is pre-exposure prophylaxis. It is HIV medication that people who do not have HIV can take and it prevents HIV.
PrEP is extraordinarily effective, 99% effective, in most cases, when it comes to sexual transmission of HIV. Now let's talk about what that really means. So, what it really means is you have to take it.
If your PrEP pills are sitting on a counter, or you forget to take them, they're not gonna be able to protect you as well as if you try not to miss any doses.
If you don't wanna take a pill a day there's options open to many people to be able to get an injection once every couple of months. And that means that you don't think about it and just make sure that you get to your doctor.
