BRITAIN: NHS Rejects PrEP For Second Time

The BBC reports:

NHS England has reiterated it will not fund a “game-changer” drug treatment that can prevent HIV, angering HIV charities which had been campaigning to reverse the decision. The NHS is standing firm and says it has no responsibility to provide the treatment, known as Prep. It says the onus should fall on local authorities instead.

Charities have called the decision “shameful”, and warned that lives would suffer as a result. Prep (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a daily pill that can considerably lower a person’s chances of catching HIV. If taken correctly, it is almost entirely effective in preventing HIV.

Ian Green, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “Today is a shameful day for HIV prevention. “This country used to lead the way in the fight against the HIV epidemic, but today, our national health service has washed its hands of one of the most stunning breakthroughs we’ve seen – a pill which, if taken correctly, is almost 100% effective in preventing HIV. A pill which is already available in America, Canada, France, Kenya and soon to be Australia.”