New HIV testing and prevention services have rolled into Howard Country, Maryland, and Pinellas County, Florida. Literally. …
In the Sunshine State, Metro Inclusive Health, a nonprofit focused on LGBTQ wellness, is sending its van to locations in Pinellas County where the African-American community have been harder hit by the HIV epidemic. Pinellas County, with a population of about 920,000, is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area. After a December 15 trial run at a recreation center, the Tampa Bay Times reports, the van will begin stopping at more locations, including churches, school campuses and neighborhoods.
The van offers HIV testing, telehealth appointments with physicians and, when appropriate, PrEP prescriptions.
Scientists consider PrEP to be about 99% effective among men who have sex with men and to be greater than the current estimate of 88% to 90% effectiveness for heterosexual men and women. For more details, see the POZ article “How Well Do U=U and PrEP Work? The CDC Updates Its Answers.”