Response to NY Times Opinion Piece about PrEP Mark Harrington of TAG and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis of NYC Health Department

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Mark Harrington of TAG and
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis of NYC Health Department
Respond to NY Times Opinion Piece about PrEP
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/opinion/preventing-hiv.html

The following letter from TAG Executive Director, Mark Harrington, and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Deputy Commissioner of Disease Control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, to The New York Times was published on July 5, 2018.

Preventing HIV
July 5, 2018

To the Editor:

Re “The End of Safe Gay Sex?,” by Patrick William Kelly (Opinion Piece, nytimes.com, June 26):

Condoms work when used consistently. Men who have sex with men who cannot use condoms every time, or will not, should not be shamed and further alienated from strategies that prevent H.I.V. and promote sexual health.

Sexually transmitted infection control has to evolve to address a new world where antiretrovirals — taken by people living with H.I.V. as treatment or by H.I.V.-negative people as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) — can stop the spread of the virus.

The yearly number of new H.I.V. diagnoses in New York City has reached a low. This was achieved through PrEP and the increase of immediate H.I.V. treatment for those who received a diagnosis of H.I.V., in addition to the city’s sex-positive marketing campaigns. It was driven by the work of public health experts, not “PrEP enthusiasts.”

We must develop prevention strategies that align with human nature, not against it. If you tell someone that his sex life is no longer equated with illness and death, it is only to be expected that he will enjoy sex more.

DEMETRE DASKALAKIS
MARK HARRINGTON, NEW YORK

Dr. Daskalakis, a doctor of infectious disease, is the deputy commissioner of disease control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Mr. Harrington is the executive director of Treatment Action Group.

Contact Us: Treatment Action Group, 90 Broad Street, Suite 2503, New York, New York 10004, 212-253-7922.  Communications@treatmentactiongroup.org. This year marks TAG's 25th year fighting for life-saving medications for people living with, and at risk for, HIV, TB, and HCV. Please consider supporting this work by making a donation to our 25th Anniversary Campaign today.



--
Suraj Madoori
U.S. and Global Health Policy Director
Treatment Action Group
mobile: +1.917.530.5996
www.treatmentactiongroup.org


Treatment Action Group
90 Broad St, Suite 2503
New York, NY 10004 USA
tel: +1.212.253.7922
fax: +1.212.253.7923
www.treatmentactiongroup.org

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