Time to read
Lord Paddick has today spoken of his use of the HIV prevention drug PrEP in a personal story shared on the Prepster website.
In the post he tells of his enduring anxiety around HIV, stemming from the early days of the epidemic when he says he may have avoided HIV acquisition because he was “playing it straight” and married at the time.
Yusef Azad, Director of Strategy at NAT (National AIDS Trust) said: “We welcome Brian Paddick’s candid account of how he has found taking PrEP both on the PROUD trial and in the current IMPACT Trial.
“His honesty around the challenge he has found in using condoms consistently will resonate with countless people, both gay and straight. That does not mean we forget about condoms – they remain the best way to protect against other STIs, as Brian says. But in the real world where many people do not use condoms all the time, PrEP is a much-needed extra tool for preventing HIV. It can remove the pervasive anxiety that has haunted the sex lives of gay and bisexual men for far too long. And it can save the NHS money as we see HIV diagnoses fall.
“Given PrEP’s undisputed effectiveness in preventing HIV, we urge NHS England to move to routine commissioning of PrEP as soon as possible. There are people currently trying to access PrEP at clinics where all trial places have been filled and who are as a result being turned away. We know of some who have then acquired HIV. This cannot continue. We need a national PrEP programme with no caps on numbers.”