GAUTENG. – More than 55 000 people in South Africa have started using Lenacapavir since June, an injection administered twice a year to prevent HIV infection. Women make up 71% of the injection recipients, with pregnant and breastfeeding women forming the majority.
Foster Mohale, spokesperson for the department of health, says 55 123 people had been administered Lenacapavir by seven September. The drug is currently being offered at 360 public health facilities in 24 districts across six provinces. Gauteng has the most people on Lenacapavir, with 26 357 injected, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 11 941, North West with 4 479, the Western Cape with 4 446, Mpumalanga with 4 294 and the Eastern Cape with 3 606.
Lenacapavir is being offered as part of the comprehensive PrEP choice programme, which gives people different options for HIV prevention. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has registered Lenacapavir as safe and effective for preventing HIV infection. The department says monitoring of the drug's safety, availability and use will continue. People who experience severe or persistent side effects after the injection are advised to report it at their nearest health facility.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
