Has the PrEP any protective element against COVID-19, less infection capacity or, in your case, less severe symptoms?

GAYLES.TV.- The centers LGTB + BCN Checkpoint y BCN PrEP · Point accumulate the largest number of people taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Spain. Both centers have started a study to determine if users of the PrEP, that protects from possible virus contagion HIV, have some protective element against COVID-19, less capacity for infection or, where appropriate, less severe symptoms.

Your director Ferran Pujol explain what "it is assumed that there are few cases of people who do PrEP or other antiretroviral treatment that have been coinfected. There are cases, but not those that one would expect.

The study has been approved by Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital according to current legislation. The doctor Pep Coll He is the principal investigator of the study. Coll He is a specialist in family and community medicine, member of the Foundation fights AIDS and the Research Institute of AIDS-IrsiCaixa.

Let no one let their guard down

Pujol remember that "In no case should you jump to conclusions, no one is doing PrEP should be protected or relaxed with preventive measures against COVID-19. It is nothing more than a hypothesis that has not been proven and it is not known if it can be demonstrated. And insists on alerting; «That nobody is doing PrEP it is believed that because he is taking antiretrovirals he is protected ».

They have sent the survey to more than 6.000 people because they want to compare the results of users of PrEP with another group that does not. «Whether the results are positive or not, the answer will be helpful. If they are positive, it will be possible to open avenues of investigation in this regard. And if they are not, then the hypothesis would be discarded », says Pujol.