The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released an MMWR featuring a report on PrEP use by race and ethnicity. The report shows race and gender disparities between people with PrEP indications and those prescribed PrEP. Below is the CDC’s summary and a link to the full report.
What is already known about this topic?
In 2015, approximately 1.1 million adults were at risk for acquiring human immunodeficiency virus infection and had indications for preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP); 26.3%, 43.7%, and 24.7% were white, black, and Hispanic, respectively.
What is added by this report?
In 2016, among 78,360 persons who filled prescriptions for PrEP in the United States, women accounted for only 4.7%. Among PrEP users with available race/ethnicity data, 68.7%, 11.2%, 13.1%, and 4.5% were white, black, Hispanic, and Asian, respectively.
What are the implications for public health practice?
The gap between numbers of persons with PrEP indications and those prescribed PrEP was substantial, especially among persons in female, black, and Hispanic populations. Focused efforts are needed to increase the impact of PrEP in the United States.
