New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who is both out and HIV-positive, joined other HIV activists and health officials at the AIDS Memorial to call for the federal government to make the life saving prophylactic drug Truvada, also known as PrEP, cheaper.

Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit
CC BY 2.0

“As an HIV+ elected official, I have a responsibility to do everything in my power to end this epidemic once and for all. Proud to rally at the NYC AIDS Memorial with elected officials and advocates to call for access to affordable PrEP (HIV prevention medication),” said Johnson on Twitter.

As an HIV+ elected official, I have a responsibility to do everything in my power to end this epidemic once and for all. Proud to rally at the NYC AIDS Memorial with elected officials and advocates to call for access to affordable PrEP (HIV prevention medication). pic.twitter.com/WBJthX0hTw
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) February 19, 2019

“It's life or death for people who do not get access to this live-saving medication that they need,” Johnson also said. “Other countries pay $100 year for PrEP. Americans end up paying more than $20,000 a year for the same medication.”

Access to PrEP (medication which can prevent HIV) is a life or death issue.

Other countries pay $100 per year for a PrEP prescription. Americans end up paying more than $20,000 a year for the same medication. We need to #BreakThePatent immediately. https://t.co/yjcg7K8Q10
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) February 19, 2019

More than 120,000 people are living with HIV or AIDS in NYC, according to a recent report from the Department of Health, but only a fraction take PrEP.

#Break The Patent is a petition that says “The drug Truvada has the ability to reduce the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99 percent, but it's being withheld from the American public because of the greed of its manufacturer. Gilead Sciences has inflated the cost from $6 to more than $1,600 per month, despite the US taxpayer paying for almost the full cost of its development. If we could lower the price of the drug, we could end the HIV epidemic without a vaccine.”