After all the accusations of shilling on this thread, it's funny that the only finger pointing is limited to big Pharma and not toward those who parrot the talking points of the Aids Healthcare Foundation and Michael Weinstein. And yet who has been at the center of controversy about making money off of AIDs? Why, it's the AHF and Michael Weinstein, currently under investigation for Medicaid fraud.
And, of course, I hit the nail on the head at R8. Twenty four hours and 60+ responses later, and it's all about Truvada whores, side effects, and how HIV is so easily prevented... and not, saving one reply, about how Truvada is just another tool in the box used to prevent the spread of HIV. so let's look at these accusations and deconstruct the arguments.
Humans are sexual beings. In fact, of all of the human activities, sex ranks among the five must-haves in order to live a fulfilling, complete life. And, men are hard wired for sexual activity. So of course gay men are going to be more promiscuous (a word I hate, but it is aptly used in this context) than average; just look at studies on bisexual men who routinely come back to the fact that obtaining sexual contact with another man is far easier, more available, and less complicated than heterosexual contact. To suggest that gay men should just stop having sex is a fools errand. Let's approach this from a much more realistic angle, to perhaps suggest that MSM use all of the tools available to them, from condoms to PrEP.
Second, we all know that drugs have side effects. Some side effects are quite serious. My mother was almost killed by some high powered antibiotics her physician put her on; does that mean we should tell people to not take antibiotics? My heart doctor put me on statins to reduce cholesterol, and within two weeks I was having trouble getting out of bed the side effects were so bad (horrendous joint and muscle pain, headaches, nausea) that I had to stop taking the drug. Does that mean we should go around and tell everyone to stop taking statins?
Of course not. What it does say is that anyone who starts Truvada should monitor for side effects closely, whether in the short or long term, and if the side effects outweigh the benefit of the drug, stop taking the drug. And this includes the horrors of facial wasting and lipodistrophy, which I can't believe are the major concerns of the anti-PrEP trolls.
Third, the idea that PrEP and/or drug therapies are going to bring about super strains of HIV is almost farcical. HIV is not comparable to other viruses. That's part of the reason HIV has been such a devastating disease; protocols and known science have been almost impossible to apply toward understanding and curing HIV. As my primary care physician flat-out told me, the likelihood of HIV mutating into another super strain or drug resistant form is almost impossible. I quote "almost" because statistically it is possible -- we don't know all there is to know about HIV. Nevertheless, as my doctor anecdotally quipped, if a super strain was likely, it would have already shown itself. We are 30+ years into this epidemic, after all.
However, when used with even the least of care, Truvada can make a difference on HIV transmission. To those who suggest that a missed dose or two combined with otherwise unprotected sex is going to result in seroconversion, all I can say is that your research is incomplete. The way that all of the HIV cocktails work is through building a progressive defense. Yes, if you're going to take Truvada as your sole layer of protection against HIV, then you should adhere to the protocols as closely as you possibly can. If that sounds like shilling for a drug company, I'm sorry that science is your bugaboo. Really, is taking a single pill once a day too much to ask? You can't just say, "I eat breakfast/lunch/dinner once a day, so I'll just make it a habit to take this pill when I do that?" Jesus, are you so lazy that you forget to brush your teeth too? Or does mommy have to remind you?
Now, back to the sex shaming...
