daman jacobs has been taking truvada every morning for 3 years the medication protects him against h. i.v. infection the tablets have been available in the us as an aids prophylactic since 2012 and they're covered by health insurance studies say it offers 99 percent immunity against hiv. when i was using condoms it always felt like my status was dependent on somebody else it is a really important part of my daily routine starting the day cleaning like i'm in control i have agency i'm not going to be hiv positive today. truvada was originally developed to treat hiv infections if the medication is taken as a preventive measure it's known as prep short for pre-exposure prophylaxis. this part of new york sandy aid strategy it's been responsible for a complete reversal in the number of new infections. how it grossman is a doctor and activist who also takes prep. if everybody who is at risk of infection goes on crap and everybody who is a tiny positive gets treatment and access to treatment and effective treatment then in one generation this epidemic ends without a back c without a cure wit