PREP FAQ

Contact the Baltimore City Health Department and schedule an appointment. If you're in Maryland, provide your information here, and a community health worker will contact you to guide you through this process.

If your partner is HIV positive and their viral load is undetectable (which means the virus is very weak and not transmissible to other people), you do not need PrEP. However, it's a personal decision. The way to determine if your partner is undetectable is through blood tests performed by their healthcare provider during their medical appointments. To become undetectable and remain undetectable, the person with the virus must take their medications daily as prescribed by their doctor. Click here for more information.

There are places where PrEP is available for free. Contact the Baltimore City Health Department for more information, or if you're in Maryland, provide your information here.

You need to take PrEP every day for it to work. There are several reasons why people stop taking PrEP. For example:

If your risk of getting HIV infection decreases due to changes in your life, you may want to stop taking PrEP.
‍
If you don't want to take a pill every day or often forget to take it, other methods of protection against HIV infection may work better for you.
‍
If the medication causes side effects that interfere with your life or if blood tests show that your body is reacting in an unsafe way, your doctor may stop prescribing it.

Like PrEP pills, injections are for HIV-negative people at risk of getting it. It's effective in protecting adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kg. Injections may be an option for those who have difficulty taking pills as directed, prefer injections every 2 months, or have severe kidney disease.