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An expert panel’s draft recommendation gives injectable PrEP an A grade, which will make the HIV prevention option more widely available.

Long-acting injectable PrEP to prevent HIV received an A grade in an updated draft recommendation issued today by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of health care experts.

The grade is important because the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare) requires that private insurers and ACA-approved health plans cover preventive services that receive an A or B grade from the USPSTF. This means that injectable PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) will be available to more people and without cost-sharing.

The task force gave oral PrEP (taken as daily tablets) an A grade in 2019. The update would add another HIV prevention option for folks who prefer not to take the tablets. Increasing the options and availability will also help address health inequities, noted the USPSTF.

“Many people who would benefit from PrEP are not receiving this highly effective medication. This is especially true of Black, Hispanic and Latino communities,” said USPSTF member Martha Kubik, PhD, RN, in the recommendation. “These inequities must be addressed to achieve the full benefit of PrEP.”

The Food and Drug Administration approved Apretude (cabotegravir) as the first long-acting injectable PrEP in December 2021. Administered every other month (six times a year), Apretude is manufactured by ViiV Healthcare.

The draft recommendation released today is open for public comment through January 17, after which the USPSTF will issue a final recommendation.

“Health care professionals can help protect their patients at increased risk for HIV by prescribing PrEP,” said task force member John B. Wong, MD, in the draft recommendation. “The availability of multiple effective PrEP medications is great news for patients and a positive step to helping reduce the impact of HIV in the U.S.”