Twice-Yearly Shots 100% Effective In Preventing New HIV Infections In Women, Study Finds

The AP (7/24, Cheng, Imray) reports, “Twice-yearly shots used to treat AIDS were 100% effective in preventing new [HIV] infections in women, according to study results published Wednesday.” Researchers found “there were no infections in the young women and girls that got the shots in a study of about 5,000 in South Africa and Uganda.” Meanwhile, “in a group given daily prevention pills, roughly 2% ended up catching HIV from infected sex partners.” The injections made by “Gilead and sold as Sunlenca [lenacapavir] are approved in the U.S., Canada, Europe and elsewhere, but only as a treatment for HIV.” Gilead “said it is waiting for results of testing in men before seeking permission to use it to protect against infection.” The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. CNN (7/24, Howard) reports, “Many of the women and girls who received lenacapavir, about 69%, experienced reactions at the injection site compared with 35% in the placebo injection group, but no safety concerns were found, according to the researchers.”