Both sides are planning to issue public statements soon.
“If they (health department) can be at the table, it kind of raises the gravitas and the importance of it,” Hardy said. “This is a game-changer. It’s the next best thing to a vaccine. Can you imagine how many folks would still be alive today if we had this pill 30 years ago.”
Truvada, from drug-maker Gilead Sciences, combines two drugs that have been part of the anti-retroviral cocktail taken by HIV-positive patients for years, but it wasn’t approved for use outside that population until several years ago, Hardy said.
Truvada costs about $1,000 a month, and most private insurance companies and state Medicaid programs will cover it, he said.
ARC’s Dayton clinic is already supplying Truvada to clients, who are also required to undergo routine HIV testing. But many people in high-risk groups are still unaware of the drug’s availability, Hardy said.
“People ask all the time: What if there was a pill that could prevent HIV?” he said. “Now there is one. People need to know about it.”
Hardy’s meeting with Montgomery County health officials was part of a statewide effort to reach out to at-risk groups through doctors, clinics — even social media.
Columbus Public Health is starting a public-awareness campaign, including HIV testing at nightclubs and festivals, according to health officials there.
Such efforts are particularly relevant in Ohio at a time when new-infection rates statewide are beginning to rise after years of relative stability.
A total of 1,180 Ohioans were diagnosed with HIV infection in 2013, up about 12 percent from the previous year, according to the latest figures from the Ohio Department of Health.
The spike occurred after four years of little change in the number of new HIV cases, with the increase found mainly among gay men and IV drug users, according the health department’s latest annual report.
Despite the drug’s effectiveness, Hardy warned that Truvada does not replace condoms, which are the only protection against other sexually transmitted diseases.
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