Oh my god, this is fucking huge. It was huge when we developed a daily PrEP pill that could prevent you from catching HIV; this is a successful phase III trial of a PrEP shot that will only need to be given *twice a year*. Still needs a confirmatory Phase III, but holy fuck.
0 seroconversions, N=2134, among sexually actively cisgender women in Uganda. Controls were other forms of PrEP (since placebo would be unethical): daily emtricitabine/tenofovir as Descovy had 39/2136, 2.02 per 100 person-years; as Truvada had 16/1068, 1.69 per 100.
I KNOW. They were comparing against existing daily PrEP because placebo would be unethical and it outperformed CONSIDERABLY. 0.0/100. n=2134. Just, my god.
I would guess so. You could compare it to the difference in birth control effectiveness between condoms and something long term like NuvaRing, Depo, or even implants or IUDs. It reduces the gap between perfect use and typical use.
Yeah, LARC was one of the analogies that came to mind - the others being: when the J&J COVID vax came out, it was recommended for use w/unhoused you didn't need to be able to find people for a second dose; and me begging for XR versions of my own meds so I didn't have to remember them 3x/day!
Growing up in the age when sex = death for so many people, and it hung over us all like some sort of grinning spectre, I...I'm honestly just beside myself.
