ATLANTA: County Launches No-Cost PrEP Clinic

Fulton County, Georgia – whose county seat is Atlanta – has launched a no-cost PrEP clinic in collaboration with Gilead, the maker of Truvada. Matt Hennie reports at Project Q Atlanta:

Fulton County health officials openly embraced PrEP for HIV prevention on Friday, launching a new clinic for the once-a-day pill to combat the virus among high-risk groups, including gay men.

And combined with a partnership with the drug’s maker, Gilead Science, PrEP and the medical exams and physician follow-ups required will be offered for free to HIV-negative people. The effort is aimed at three target groups – young men who have sex with men, HIV-negative people in a relationship with someone who has the virus, and women in high-risk groups.

Fulton County Commission Chair John Eaves said launching the clinic is part of the county’s “aggressive approach” to combating HIV. Metro Atlanta is a leader in new HIV cases, a “very sobering statistic” that prompted county health officials to take action to enhance its HIV prevention efforts, he said.

“We are going to be a leader like San Francisco, we are going to be a leader like New York City in terms of being aggressive,” Eaves said. “We are here because Fulton County cares. We are here because we have one tool in the toolbox to address the issue.”