Massachusetts State Reps. Jack Patrick Lewis and Chynah Tyler along with State Sen. Julian Cyr have filed a bill to let young adults, without parental consent, receive prescriptions for PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis protection against HIV) and HIV treatment from health care providers.
“Even though the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended PrEP as a treatment for people at high risk of HIV infection since 2014, not everyone who needs this medication can get it,” said Carl Sciortino, executive vice president of external relations at Fenway Health in a press release.
“There are lots of reasons for this and they range from lack of access to health care to social stigma. This commonsense bill will remove age as a potential barrier to PrEP,” Sciortino said.
Explains Fenway, which has endorsed the bill:
PrEP is an antiretroviral medication that blocks HIV from replicating in the body and when taken daily reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by more than 90 percent. Despite its efficacy at preventing the transmission of HIV, only 20 percent of those who are good candidates for PrEP use the medication.
People who are disproportionately affected by HIV including Black Indigenous and other People of Color, cisgender women, and transgender people are among those least likely to be using PrEP as a preventative measure. Young people who are vulnerable to HIV infection are also among those who under-utitlize PrEP.
“Our Commonwealth must do everything possible to empower young adults to make informed choices relating to HIV prevention,” said Rep. Lewis. “Ensuring equitable accessibility to life-saving, life-enhancing HIV-prevention medication is instrumental to efforts to achieve zero new cases and zero stigma around HIV. It is a great honor to partner with Rep. Chynah Tyler, Senator Julian Cyr, and so many public health advocates on this vital piece of legislation.”
For more on the bill, “An Act Relative To HIV Prevention Access for Young Adults,” read the complete press release from Fenway here.
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