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Pay attention to seniors with HIV, advocates say
Truvada, or PrEP, is a medication that can reduce HIV infection by more than 90 percent. Health officials consider it an important HIV prevention tool. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have collaborated to reintroduce the PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2023 to help reduce HIV. One of the things that needs to be talked about is that many older people are living with HIV or are at risk of contracting the virus. In 2021, the latest year for which data is available, people over age 50 accounted for 53 percent of people living with HIV in the U.S. By 2030, that proportion may be as high as 70 percent. Also, contrary to stereotype, older people are sexual beings and therefore engage in sexual and other behaviors that put them at risk for the virus infection. In 2021, people 50 and older accounted for 16.4 percent of new HIV diagnoses among those aged 13 and older. Photo: Gilead Sciences.