California just became the first state to allow people to buy HIV prevention drugs at pharmacies without a prescription, according to recent news reports.
Around 1.2 million Americans currently live with AIDS, an incurable disease that develops after an individual is infected with the HIV virus. But in the last couple of decades, new treatments have increasingly allowed people with AIDS to live long and full lives; and new prevention drugs have reduced the number of people being infected with HIV in the first place.
On Monday (Oct. 7), California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that allows people to buy these prevention drugs at pharmacies without a prescription and also prohibits insurance companies from requiring "prior authorization" before using the insurance to purchase the drugs.
One of the pills, called pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP, is a daily pill for people who want to prevent HIV infections; the other pill, called post-exposure prophylaxis or PEP, is an emergency pill that people can take after a possible exposure to HIV in order to reduce their chances of infection.
Information Sources www.livescience.com, www.nytimes.com, www.npr.org
Image Source https://people.com
Image Source https://people.com
No comments:
Post a Comment