so, i am curious what people here think about this new drug and if people can see any harms which may emerge from it's arrival...
i am always nervous about anything like this, it seems to be tested and safe but....i came up during the advent of the AIDS epidemic and so am not sure i will ever be comfortable without a condom...
here'a a link to some more info on it;
http://www.nakedtruth.ca/2016/08/sex-workers-listed-as-source-for.html
There's been a lot of hype lately about a new drug that you can take every day which prevents you catching HIV.
The anti-retroviral medication - Truvada - has been used for a while now as an effective treatment for people who have HIV.
Recently, large demonstration research trials have proven that Truvada also works as effective prevention: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV, or "PrEP."
Sexual Health & Safety: WTF is PrEP?
A study released in 2015 reported that after 2.5 years, a group of more than 600 San Francisco men who have sex with men taking Truvada as PrEP have had zero cases of HIV infection.
That study also found that 45 per cent of study participants stated they used condoms less; and more than half of those in the group study had contracted at least one sexually transmitted infection (STI) within one year.
There has been high demand for access to PrEP from gay men.
In Canada, this has led to the development of some guidelines for prescribing Truvada for what is called "off-label" use - which means a doctor can prescribe a drug for a use other than what the drug was approved for.
Then in February 2016, Health Canada approved Truvada for use as PrEP for HIV in Canada. (Truvada was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use as PrEP in 2012.)
Truvada is but one of many PrEP medications available or in development. Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention (AVAC) tracks all the drugs being researched on a monthly chart: the ARV-based Prevention Pipeline.
On May 12, 2016, at a symposium of the 25th Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS, new draft Canadian guidelines for PrEP and an emergency treatment for HIV exposure called “nPEP” (non-occupational Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) were presented.
The proposed national guidelines featured a table which listed "source" groups for "transmissible HIV." The idea was that if you have a risky contact with someone from one of these groups listed in Table 6B, you would be eligible for "nPEP" where you would be given ARV medications immediately after the risk for HIV took place.
"PEP" (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) has been available for some time now for emergency workers and nurses who face risks from contact with blood including needle-sticks and such.
From around the room, comments arose about the inclusion of sex workers in Table 6B: "Likelihood Source has Transmissible HIV," and the fact that sex work clients would have access to nPEP, yet there were no guidelines for access to nPEP for sex workers themselves.
As it turns out, there were a dozen representatives from sex-work organizations from around Canada, including Maggie's Toronto, Stella Montreal, SWAN Society Vancouver, SHIFT Calgary and several people from Winnipeg where the CAHR conference was being held.
After the symposium, a group of the delegates drafted and submitted a letter outlining their concerns (22 in number) about the draft PrEP and nPEP guidelines. Here’s a quote from the letter:
"The use of the term "survival sex trade" encourages stigma and discrimination toward certain citizens. Our group feels strongly that the emphasis on "populations" rather than "behaviours" is problematic when describing sex workers in general.
"The implication is that risks for HIV infection and transmission are inherent in sex work. However, sex work (as opposed to other forms of sexual exchange) most often takes place within a sex-industry workplace."
The reason there were an unprecedented number of sex-worker groups attending the CAHR conference is because they were there taking part in an invitation-only ancillary event to the conference called, "PrEP in the Context of Sex Work: Possibilities and Limitations."
The focus of this ancillary event was to plan for a national consultation of the same name, to be held in Toronto on October 19 and 20 at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH), University of Toronto.
The national consultation is a team effort, spearheaded by the Triple-X Workers' Solidarity Association of B.C.
this project hopes to get people to weigh in on this drug and it's use as well as any potential problems it could cause....
what do people think about it....?
1. would you take such a drug?
2. would you take less safe sex precautions? or just add the drug as another layer of protection?
there's to be a meeting held in october about this in ottawa i think....i can't go as i am visiting my family then...but i would like to maybe send a written submission for consideration and outlining any issues people want to identify?
people can respond here or message me with any ideas or concerns....
i would then compile people's responses into a short report, removing all identifying info of course, post the small report for people's feed back and then submit it to be used as part of the discussion...?
what do people think? about the drug or me writing a small report?
love susie
i am always nervous about anything like this, it seems to be tested and safe but....i came up during the advent of the AIDS epidemic and so am not sure i will ever be comfortable without a condom...
here'a a link to some more info on it;
http://www.nakedtruth.ca/2016/08/sex-workers-listed-as-source-for.html
There's been a lot of hype lately about a new drug that you can take every day which prevents you catching HIV.
The anti-retroviral medication - Truvada - has been used for a while now as an effective treatment for people who have HIV.
Recently, large demonstration research trials have proven that Truvada also works as effective prevention: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV, or "PrEP."
Sexual Health & Safety: WTF is PrEP?
A study released in 2015 reported that after 2.5 years, a group of more than 600 San Francisco men who have sex with men taking Truvada as PrEP have had zero cases of HIV infection.
That study also found that 45 per cent of study participants stated they used condoms less; and more than half of those in the group study had contracted at least one sexually transmitted infection (STI) within one year.
There has been high demand for access to PrEP from gay men.
In Canada, this has led to the development of some guidelines for prescribing Truvada for what is called "off-label" use - which means a doctor can prescribe a drug for a use other than what the drug was approved for.
Then in February 2016, Health Canada approved Truvada for use as PrEP for HIV in Canada. (Truvada was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use as PrEP in 2012.)
Truvada is but one of many PrEP medications available or in development. Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention (AVAC) tracks all the drugs being researched on a monthly chart: the ARV-based Prevention Pipeline.
On May 12, 2016, at a symposium of the 25th Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS, new draft Canadian guidelines for PrEP and an emergency treatment for HIV exposure called “nPEP” (non-occupational Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) were presented.
The proposed national guidelines featured a table which listed "source" groups for "transmissible HIV." The idea was that if you have a risky contact with someone from one of these groups listed in Table 6B, you would be eligible for "nPEP" where you would be given ARV medications immediately after the risk for HIV took place.
"PEP" (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) has been available for some time now for emergency workers and nurses who face risks from contact with blood including needle-sticks and such.
From around the room, comments arose about the inclusion of sex workers in Table 6B: "Likelihood Source has Transmissible HIV," and the fact that sex work clients would have access to nPEP, yet there were no guidelines for access to nPEP for sex workers themselves.
As it turns out, there were a dozen representatives from sex-work organizations from around Canada, including Maggie's Toronto, Stella Montreal, SWAN Society Vancouver, SHIFT Calgary and several people from Winnipeg where the CAHR conference was being held.
After the symposium, a group of the delegates drafted and submitted a letter outlining their concerns (22 in number) about the draft PrEP and nPEP guidelines. Here’s a quote from the letter:
"The use of the term "survival sex trade" encourages stigma and discrimination toward certain citizens. Our group feels strongly that the emphasis on "populations" rather than "behaviours" is problematic when describing sex workers in general.
"The implication is that risks for HIV infection and transmission are inherent in sex work. However, sex work (as opposed to other forms of sexual exchange) most often takes place within a sex-industry workplace."
The reason there were an unprecedented number of sex-worker groups attending the CAHR conference is because they were there taking part in an invitation-only ancillary event to the conference called, "PrEP in the Context of Sex Work: Possibilities and Limitations."
The focus of this ancillary event was to plan for a national consultation of the same name, to be held in Toronto on October 19 and 20 at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH), University of Toronto.
The national consultation is a team effort, spearheaded by the Triple-X Workers' Solidarity Association of B.C.
this project hopes to get people to weigh in on this drug and it's use as well as any potential problems it could cause....
what do people think about it....?
1. would you take such a drug?
2. would you take less safe sex precautions? or just add the drug as another layer of protection?
there's to be a meeting held in october about this in ottawa i think....i can't go as i am visiting my family then...but i would like to maybe send a written submission for consideration and outlining any issues people want to identify?
people can respond here or message me with any ideas or concerns....
i would then compile people's responses into a short report, removing all identifying info of course, post the small report for people's feed back and then submit it to be used as part of the discussion...?
what do people think? about the drug or me writing a small report?
love susie
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