PrEP pill types

At City Clinic, we will recommend one of these two pills based on your medical history and what coverage you qualify for.

• Truvada, available as either a brand-name or a generic medication
• Descovy, only available as a brand-name medication

PrEP pill schedules

You must take your PrEP pill on schedule for it to work. There are 2 schedules people use:

1. Take 1 pill every day

• Taking 1 pill of PrEP every day works for all genders.
• It also works for all body parts used for sex, and for protection during injection drug use.
• If you miss a pill on this schedule, take it as soon as you can.
• If it is almost time for the next pill, just take that next pill.
  

Learn more about taking PrEP as a pill daily

2. Take pills before and after sex only (the 2-1-1 schedule)

• You can only take the 2-1-1 schedule with Truvada, not Descovy.
• People can use the 2-1-1 schedule to prevent HIV when having sex using their penis or butt/anus.
• The 2-1-1 schedule is not known to work against HIV when using your vagina/front-hole for sex.
• On the 2-1-1 schedule, you take pills only on the days when you have sex, and for two days after.
• You must follow the schedule correctly for it to work.
• The schedule is very specific:
  • Take 2 pills at once 2 to 24 hours before sex, and then a second dose of 1 pill, 24 hours after the first dose. Finally, take a third dose of 1 pill, 24 hours after the second dose.
  • Keep taking one pill every day until 2 doses have passed since your last sex. For example, if you have sex again between the second and third doses, add a fourth dose of 1 pill 24 hours after the third dose. If you have sex between the third and fourth doses, or between any later doses, keep adding more doses on this same schedule until you have had two doses without any sex in between.
  • If you are more than 2 hours late for a dose, take 2 pills in a single dose and call your provider about getting PEP.
• The 2-1-1 schedule requires planning ahead. Some people also find it hard to follow. If the 2-1-1 schedule does not work for you, consider taking PrEP as 1 pill every day instead.

Learn more about taking PrEP with the 2-1-1 schedule

PrEP shot types

• Cabotegravir: 1 shot every 2 months. The brand name of cabotegravir is Apretude. It is only available as a brand-name medication.
• Lenacapavir: 1 shot every 6 months. The brand name of lenacapavir is Yeztugo. It is only available as a brand-name medication.

PrEP shot information

• Taking the shot
  • The shot must be given by a medical provider.
  • You cannot do the shot yourself or have a companion do it for you.
  • You cannot pick the shot up at a pharmacy.
  • You must get the shot on time. Otherwise, it stops working to prevent HIV.
• Side effects
  • Pain and other side effects around the place the injection is given can happen with both cabotegravir and lenacapavir.
  • But those side effects can be different, because the two medications are injected differently from each other.
• Availability
  • PrEP as a shot is not as widely available yet as the pill forms of PrEP.
  • This is because PrEP as a shot is newer, and doctors’ offices have to set up a system for getting the shot delivered and stored at their office.
  • The pill forms of PrEP are simpler for any doctor’s office to prescribe, because they only have to send the prescription to a pharmacy.

Learn more about taking PrEP as a shot