The U.S. saw a 12 percent drop in new HIV infections between 2017 and 2021. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) attributes most this to increased action among young people between 13 and 24.
More and more gay and bisexual young men — who make up the majority of new infections in the younger demographic — are aware of their HIV status, suppressing the virus through medication if they’re positive and getting on PrEP to prevent infections.
But disparities still abound in the U.S. HIV response according to the new data.
Drops in new infection rates, while present, were significantly smaller among Black and Hispanic men who are gay or bisexual when compared to white men. Black women accounted for half of all new HIV infections among women during 2021.
And an even smaller percentage of Black and Hispanic people who stood to benefit from PrEP were taking the medication — 11 and 20 percent, respectively, compared to 78 percent of white people who could benefit.
A little more than half of all new U.S. HIV infections in 2021 came from the South. The CDC is planning a media campaign aimed at gay and bisexual Black and Hispanic men in the South to help raise awareness in response to these findings.
Remember: PrEP, which reduces the risk of HIV infection by about 99 percent when taken as prescribed, is at the center of a federal lawsuit in Texas over whether insurers should be required to cover the medication with no cost-sharing under the Affordable Care Act.
A district court judge invalidated the requirement, but an appeals court partially paused that ruling last week.
The federal government has a goal of reducing new HIV infection by 90 percent between 2017 and 2030. The data on Tuesday indicates the U.S. isn’t on track to meeting this target and getting rid of a provision that ensures affordable access to PrEP is likely to drag the country further away from reaching it.
