The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness welcomed the response of the administration of the long-acting HIV prevention injection Lenacapavir.

The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness (WCDHW) confirmed that nearly nine in ten people who choose the lenacapavir injection are first-time users of the long-acting HIV prevention.

Lenacapavir is an antiretroviral drug designed to both treat and prevent HIV. More importantly, lenacapavir is not a vaccine, but a highly-effective HIV prevention medicine.

According to the Department, between 8 June and 24 July, 2 339 lenacapvir injections were administered across 22 public health facilities in the Metro.

Of the injections administered, 2 049 (87.6 percent) were people who were not previously taking oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which means the programme is reaching thousands of residents who were previously not using long-acting HIV prevention.