Georgia ranks second and Atlanta fifth in the rate of new HIV diagnoses, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To help combat HIV/AIDS, Fulton County’s Health Services Department has opened a PrEP Clinic in southeast Atlanta.

PrEP, the acronym for pre-exposure-prophylaxis, is a regimen that includes taking one pill a day to keep from getting HIV. PrEP is strongly recommended for people in high risk groups—men who have sex with men, women whose partners may have bisexual sex and persons with multiple sex partners.

For those who do test  positive, another new strategy is Rapid Entry, which aims to get those diagnosed into treatment within 72 hours. Everyone who comes to a Fulton County Health Center for any service is now being offering an HIV test.

The PrEP Clinic is located at theAldredge Health Center, 99 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive SE.

Collin Kelley

Collin Kelley has been the editor of Atlanta Intown for two decades and has been a journalist and freelance writer for 35 years. He’s also an award-winning poet and novelist.