The twice-yearly HIV prevention injection Lenacapavir has been met with widespread support from the health department and some organisations, viewing it as a “gamechanger” that could significantly bolster the country’s fight against the epidemic.
The first 37,920 doses of Lenacapavir, also known as Len, arrived at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg last week. The supply was delivered in two shipments from Dublin, Ireland, on March 30 and April 2.
The medication is administered into the fatty tissue of the abdomen of an HIV-negative individual once every six months. While highly effective, Len is not a vaccine. It only provides protection for as long as it is consistently used, whereas a vaccine typically offers lifelong immunity.
Some members of the public have expressed scepticism, specifically regarding potential long-term side effects.
South Africa records about 170,000 new HIV infections per year.
Modelling scientists predict if between one and two million HIV-negative people take Len at least once between now and 2043, South Africa could stop enough new infections to end Aids as a public health problem in 18 years’ time.
“Africa carries the heaviest burden of HIV yet has historically had the least control over the medicines needed to fight it,” said Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
“South Africa’s bold step to pursue local production of Lenacapavir changes that narrative.”
TimesLIVE
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