What is PrEP?

PrEP is short for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. This is a medicine that helps protect people who are at high risk on getting the HIV virus. People who don’t have HIV can take a pill once a day to lower their chance of becoming infected.

How can PrEP protect me from HIV?

The PrEP pill contains tenofovir and emtricitabine, and these drugs help keep the virus from multiplying.

Two medications are approved by FDA for daily use for PrEP: Truvada® and Descovy®

• Truvada®: Recommend for patients who are at risk for HIV through sex or injection drug use.
• Descovy®: Recommend for patients who are at risk for HIV through sex, excluding people at risk through vaginal sex

It’s important to know that PrEP is not 100% protective. You will need to continue to lower your risk of getting HIV by:

• Using condoms every time you have sex
• Using only clean needles and sterile works if you inject any drugs
• Getting tested every 3 months for HIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), hepatitis B, and hepatitis C

Learn more about PrEP (PDF)