Yes. according to studys PrEP works 98%+ of the time for men IF, you take the pill EVERYDAY without missing it and you are not often exposed to an extremely rare variant of HIV (less than 1 in 100k people living with HIV have this variant). It will not prevent you from getting ANY other STDs including the ones that can last a lifetime like herpes, genital warts and hepatitis c.
As other people noted. The reason why a lot of men are living with HIV now is because HIV has been around for about 40 years, but PReP has only been approved in the USA since 2012. For the first 3 years after it was approved the maker of the drug (Gilead) chose not to promote it. It has only been widely known about by most gay men since 2016. Even today it can be difficult for men outside of cities to get their doctors to prescribe PReP for them. There is still a lack of knowledge about the drug outside of the urban or gay communities.
Perhaps many man who have been HIV+ & have undetectable for many years, way before the PREP alternative was available to the public, decided to disclose their HIV+ status. Keep in mind, even in present times, Century XXI, and under the present administration, discrimination; ignorance, and stigma still prevail among the gay and non-gay community. Most people have no clue what it means to be HIV undetectable. Pure ignorance!!!
I think the obvious answer to this question is: men who are poz have most likely been poz for quite some time (from when before PrEP existed). Thus, having been on meds etc. is how their viral loads are undetectable now.
Some simple Googling about this topic should answer any questions you have. And the bottom line? If you're neg. and want to stay that way, insist on condom use if you're an anal bottom. Make that YOUR responsibility, not the top's.
You weren't even born when "safe sex" was the only option. But -- now you know!
Prep does seem to be working very well. The reason so many guys are positive is because Prep wasn't available to fairly recently in the scheme of things. And for your information, it's a proven fact that a person on meds and undetectable is as safe as a healthy individual. Either way you should always play safe and cover up. Just because someone says one thing doesn't always mean it's true, besides all the other std's out there can be just as harmful if not worse.
As other people noted. The reason why a lot of men are living with HIV now is because HIV has been around for about 40 years, but PReP has only been approved in the USA since 2012. For the first 3 years after it was approved the maker of the drug (Gilead) chose not to promote it. It has only been widely known about by most gay men since 2016. Even today it can be difficult for men outside of cities to get their doctors to prescribe PReP for them. There is still a lack of knowledge about the drug outside of the urban or gay communities.
Some simple Googling about this topic should answer any questions you have. And the bottom line? If you're neg. and want to stay that way, insist on condom use if you're an anal bottom. Make that YOUR responsibility, not the top's.
You weren't even born when "safe sex" was the only option. But -- now you know!