Two Shots A Year: How A New HIV Drug Is Tackling Stigma And Saving Lives

Forbes

6 days ago

Today's HIV/AIDS transmission rate makes one thing painfully clear: the virus is no longer affecting just the LGBTQIA communities.
In fact, if you're Black, straight, and living in America, the silence around HIV prevention might be putting you at greater risk than ever before. This quiet truth is what made the presence of Gilead Sciences – a biopharmaceutical company primarily known for its work in developing and delivering innovative therapies for diseases like HIV/AIDS– at this year's National Medical Association (NMA) Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly so crucial.
With the launch of Yeztugo, Gilead's new injectable PrEP for adults and adolescents, the HIV prevention landscape is shifting. Offering six months of protection with just two injections per year, Yeztugo stands in stark contrast to existing PrEP regimens, which require a daily pill and quarterly visits for refills and lab monitoring.
Dr. Debra Wafer, the public affairs, community engagement, and advocacy lead for Gilead's HIV treatment and prevention division, said the leap in convenience opens the door for Gilead to partner with healthcare providers, cultural influencers, and media to help rewrite the story around HIV/AIDS.
'The HIV epidemic at the beginning was defined by the white gay community and because of that definition, other communities didn't know that they were at risk,' said Wafer, a nurse practitioner and physician's assistant.
'Today we think of HIV as a transmittable virus that usually happens sexually,' Wafer continued. 'And I think we are trying to make sure that everyone knows that HIV, can be treated and people can live a long line, and also that HIV can be prevented, and we are not trying to be in one space, because whether you're LGBTQIA or not, if you're having sex and you don't know your HIV status, that is something that puts you at risk.'
Speaking from a conference room deep in the heart of downtown Chicago, Gilead Sciences made it clear they aren't carrying this message alone. By choosing the NMA as their stage and partnering with Grammy Award-winning artist Raheem DeVaughn, Gilead and its allies are working to break the stigma around HIV/AIDS—and spotlight the healthcare providers and communities most at risk.
Under the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Government Efficiency have gutted federal investments in HIV/AIDS testing, treatment, and prevention. The consequences are staggering: Black women now account for more than 50% of new HIV diagnoses among women, yet make up only 8% of PrEP users. While broader health inequities continue to devastate Black communities—including persistent barriers to quality care—recent years have seen a 16% drop in new HIV infections among Black gay and bisexual men, while cisgender Black women have experienced a sharp increase.
Dr. Toyin Nwafor, executive director of U.S. HIV Medical Affairs at Gilead Sciences, said that disparity should serve as a national call to action.
'We must end the stigma that exists around HIV,' said Nwafor, a Chicago-based medical practitioner of more than two decades. 'If you are sexually active you're vulnerable to HIV and your vulnerability may be higher because of where you live, walk, pray, live and love, and in those communities, we need to make sure that that message is heard,' Nwafor continued in expressing what she described as Gilead's overall goal.
'So we're not stigmatizing or targeting individuals,' she said. 'but we're looking at what is happening in the communities that they live to make sure that they have access to treatment, to prevention and to programs that allow them to stay engaged in care.'
For many in Black and Brown communities, improving access to care starts with expanding the knowledge base of healthcare providers—especially those who look like them. That's what makes NMA an ideal partner. As the leading voice of African-American physicians nationwide, the organization and its new president, Dr. Roger A. Mitchell Jr., are launching a year-long campaign titled The New Reconstruction.
As part of the campaign, Dr. Mitchell and the NMA are calling for structural reforms that go beyond the exam room—because healthcare justice also means policy justice. This campaign's launch is happening amid Medicaid cuts that would gut the very infrastructure supporting HIV prevention and treatment.
With nearly 40% of HIV-positive people dependent on Medicaid, slashing the program would disproportionately harm Black and Brown communities, undermining NMA's progress and that of other campaigns.
'Convening like this, brought together by Gilead Sciences, confirmed the importance of the intersection between media, medical industry and cultural influencers that joined in this partnership to end the HIV epidemic today,' Mitchell said.
For DeVaughn—Grammy-nominated singer, chart-topping artist, father and PrEP user —talking about HIV and PrEP isn't just advocacy, it's literally part of the show.
At his concerts, DeVaughn carves out time to speak directly to the audience about prevention, because he believes awareness is a form of care—and far too many in his fanbase are left in the dark.
'I've had direct contact with over 40,000 Black women,' DeVaughn said. 'Being able to talk about the statistics around HIV, how Black women—and Black and Brown folks in general—are disproportionately affected, and how prevention, PrEP, and breaking stigma can make a difference, is powerful. People need to know their options.'
In DeVaughn's hometown of Washington, D.C., once one of the epicenters of the HIV epidemic in the '90s and early 2000s, the story is layered. HIV transmission rates among white gay men have dropped significantly, thanks to widespread PrEP use, access to care, and strong local prevention programs.
Overall, the District has seen an 86% decrease in new diagnoses since the early 2000s, including in Black and Brown communities. But those declines still lag far behind the rates seen among white gay men—a reflection of the stigma and systemic neglect that persist in communities of color.
DeVaughn said this neglect can be addressed by normalizing conversations at home, in providers' offices and in the community at-large.
'Regardless of your religious faith, your background,...your age, these are conversations that we have to have.' DeVaughn said. 'Generationally, we talk about dieting, Diabetes and sugar levels and I think we have to normalize the conversation about HIV.'
Far too many Black and Brown Americans miss the opportunity to talk about PrEP and HIV prevention when they get their annual physical.
Wafer said that has to change.
'It is important for healthcare providers to know who they are talking to, what they need and have a unique ability to translate the science in an understandable way,' she said.
Nwafor, whose professional experience includes academic research and stints in inpatient and outpatient settings, a large public hospital, a university hospital, and a veterans hospital, expressed similar thoughts while stressing the importance of health care providers centering their patients' lived-experiences.
For Black and Brown Americans, those experiences could have included moments of trauma and far too often, neglect, Nwafor said.
'What was clear over those past 20 to 25 years is that regardless of the patient population, regardless of the payer mix, there remained existing disparities in access to good quality care and the outcomes that disproportionately impact our communities, the Black community,' Nwafor said.
With Yeztugo now available in pharmacies across the country, this twice-yearly injection offers something many people have long needed: privacy, convenience, and a way to sidestep the daily pill stigma.
It could be a game-changer—especially for sexually active women and men navigating relationships where trust is policed and sexual orientation is often misread.
What's clear is this: PrEP—regardless of how you take it—says nothing about your orientation. It says everything about your self-preservation. In a world where social media has normalized lip fillers, Botox, and testosterone shots, surely we can normalize two injections a year to protect against HIV.
This moment demands a reset. The virus has moved on from the narratives we built in the '80s and '90s—but our prevention playbook hasn't. If Yeztugo lives up to its promise, it could finally help those most at risk feel seen, protected, and prioritized—not just pathologized.