A new form of PrEP is slowly starting to be made available in Canada; it’s called injectable PrEP! This medication is a long-acting form of PrEP, meaning you go get the injection every 3 months, instead of needing to take a pill every day. 

It has been shown to actually be more effective than the daily oral PrEP (the medication described in the rest of this website section), likely because it relies less on people needing to remember to take a pill at the same time every day.

Currently, ViiV Healthcare (the company that makes the approved form of injectable PrEP) is talking with both Canadian insurance companies and Canadian government healthcare bodies about how much the drug will be and how much will be covered. 

This means you can’t get it in Nova Scotia yet. Since daily PrEP is still not universally covered by NS Healthcare plans, it is unlikely that this medication will quickly be accessible to most Nova Scotians. However, we can always urge government officials to consider the huge benefit that a medication like this will make to reducing new HIV cases locally! 

 

You can learn more about where we got this information from at: CATIE, CBC, Apretude

*disclaimer: we do not necessarily endorse all of the information, content, or language used in these references.