Blue pill to prevent HIV is extremely popular: GGDs have waiting lists for the drug

The provision of PrEP to gay men is catching on. In all three working areas of the GGDs in our province there is already a waiting list or this is being taken into account. “It works very well. We are longing for it ”, says a spokesperson for the COC Nederland interest group in Brabant. HIV can be prevented with PrEP.

The GGD Hart voor Brabant was the first in our province to provide PrEP more than a year ago. This is a national trial to make this drug available to men who have sex with other men. It can be used daily or around sex.

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Less HIV diagnosed
Providers and users alike had high expectations of this, which is confirmed by recent figures from the HIV Monitoring Foundation. This shows that fewer people were diagnosed with HIV last year. And although it is not certain what caused the decrease: PrEP plays a major role in the prevention of new HIV infections, the national HIV Association concludes.

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The GGD Hart voor Brabant made the means available before the start of the national pilot. “This already gave us insight into how the clients experienced the pill. In general, they are very satisfied. We see that there are people who do suffer from side effects, such as nausea, but these are less experienced as such after long use. ”

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‘Take responsibility’
According to a spokesperson for COC West-Brabant, the discipline, the times when PrEP should be taken, is not too much to ask. “The Aidsfonds has investigated ‘who are those PrEP users’. This showed that there are quite a few men who take their responsibility and at the same time live an active sexual life. The real losbollen don’t ‘even’ take PrEP, unfortunately. ”

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At the GGD Hart voor Brabant, which can serve 260 clients, the demand is greater than the supply. “There is a waiting list of over 75 people. If there is more subsidy, we will get started right away. ” The maximum has also been exceeded at the GGD Brabant-Zuidoost. Here ‘a small number of men’ must have patience. Nationwide, a signal has been sent to the RIVM and the ministry that the subsidy is inadequate, it is added.

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The GGD West-Brabant also takes into account a waiting list. “We can help 148 clients. The intention was that this would have happened at the end of this month, but due to COVID-19 this has been somewhat delayed. It is expected that we will have to use a waiting list from the end of January ”, said a spokesman.

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‘Relatively anonymous’
Homosexuals who catch the eye at the GGD can still go to the general practitioner, the HIV clinic or commercial STI clinics, the GGD Brabant-Zuidoost says. The spokesperson for COC West-Brabant agrees. “The difference is that you are relatively anonymous at the GGD and that you do not have to pay for the control examinations yourself, but you do have to pay for the medication. You pay about 50 euros for thirty pills. One point is that the shelf life of the pills varies considerably per producer, that is a thing. ”

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“At the GGDs you also have the advantage that a check-up is free and that you have to pay for such an examination yourself at the GP.”

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