Nova Scotia government adds HIV prevention drug to pharmacare program
HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government said Friday that it will add a drug that helps prevent HIV to the provincial pharmacare program, though some activists are still calling on the province to provide universal funding.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis — often referred to as PrEP — can be taken daily by people who are at a high-risk for HIV infection, like men who have sex with men or people who inject drugs.
The announcement comes days after health officials reported a significant increase in the number of new HIV infections in the province so far this year.
But Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, said it’s been in the works for months.