--- title: PrEP HIV/AIDS: Trial Shows Drug Reduces Infection Risk description: A drug designed to prevent HIV infection for at-risk populations has yielded no new cases of the disease in a new real-world study. canonical: https://time.com/4020304/hiv-aids-prep/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-02T18:32:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:34.246Z article:section: Health og:title: HIV Prevention Drug Appears to Work in First Real-World Test og:description: Researchers evaluated more than 650 people who used the drug PrEP og:url: https://time.com/4020304/hiv-aids-prep/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf9f9ac94f61259fc/6988620c524fc0a5e2df45ae/prep-hiv-prevention-drug.jpg?branch=production&width=908&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 908 og:image:height: 511 og:image:alt: PrEP HIV prevention drug og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: HIV Prevention Drug Appears to Work in First Real-World Test twitter:description: Researchers evaluated more than 650 people who used the drug PrEP twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf9f9ac94f61259fc/6988620c524fc0a5e2df45ae/prep-hiv-prevention-drug.jpg?branch=production&width=908&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # HIV Prevention Drug Appears to Work in First Real-World Test > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=691c40d6-d9ea-4e4a-9fb9-5500dba97209&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk [Watch (HLS stream): Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ai82XWJ8.m3u8) (2:06)  _Published 2014-09-24. TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 2, 2015 6:32 PM UTC  Animation of cells responding to the PrEP HIV prevention drug. Animation of cells responding to the PrEP HIV prevention drug. PrEP REP Project  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 2, 2015 6:32 PM UTC A drug designed to prevent people who are at risk of HIV from being infected is showing promise: a new real-world study found that those who took the drug stayed HIV-free. The finding adds to growing evidence the drug, PrEP, serves as an effective method of curbing the spread of the HIV virus. For the study, the first to look at PrEP outside of a clinical setting, researchers evaluated more than 650 people who began the drug during a 32-month period. Nearly all of the participants were men who have sex with men. Users were more likely than non-users to report that they had multiple sex partners. During the study, participants developed a number of different sexually transmitted diseases but remained free of HIV. The Food and Drug Administration approved PrEP for use in 2012 and it has since been recommended to groups that engage in sexual practices that place them at increased risk of HIV. The drug can reduce risk of HIV infection by 92% if taken properly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). HIV infection rates in the U.S. have persisted in recent years despite campaigns to raise awareness and encourage condom use. ### The Photo That Changed the Face of AIDS  David Kirby on his deathbed, Ohio, 1990. Therese Frare  In another of Therese Frare's photos taken in the final moments of David Kirby's life, his caregiver and friend, Peta; David's father; and David's sister, Susan, say goodbye. Therese Frare  Bill Kirby tries to comfort his dying son, David, 1990. Therese Frare  A nurse at Pater Noster House in Ohio holds David Kirby's hands not long before he died, spring 1990. Therese Frare  David Kirby, Ohio, 1990. Therese Frare  David Kirby's mother, Kay, holds a photograph of her son -- taken by Ohio photographer Art Smith -- before AIDS took its toll. Therese Frare  Peta, a volunteer at Pater Noster House in Ohio, cares for a dying David Kirby, 1990. Therese Frare  Peta lies on a couch in a home rented by Pater Noster House, 1991\. After the infamous ad ran, Benetton donated money to Pater Noster, some of which was used to furnish the house where Peta and other patients stayed. Therese Frare  Peta on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, July 1991\. "Peta could be a handful at times," Therese Frare told LIFE.com, "but there was a great deal of joy in our relationship. He wasn't like anyone I'd ever met." Therese Frare  Peta swims in a lake on the Pine Ridge (Lakota) Indian Reservation in South Dakota, during a trip home with photographer Therese Frare in July 1991. Therese Frare  Peta at the Pine Ridge (Lakota) Indian Reservation in South Dakota, during a trip home with Therese Frare in July 1991. Therese Frare  Peta in Ohio, 1991. Therese Frare  Peta in bed at Pater Noster House, 1992. Therese Frare  Scene at Pater Noster House, Ohio, 1991. Therese Frare  Peta at Pater Noster House, 1992. Therese Frare  Peta with Bill and Kay Kirby at Pater Noster House, 1992\. "I made up my mind," Kay Kirby said, "when David was dying and Peta was helping to care for him, that when Peta's time came -- and we all knew it would come -- that we would care for him. There was never any question. We were going to take care of Peta. That was that." Therese Frare  Kay Kirby administers medicine to Peta via an IV, 1992. Therese Frare  Peta and Bill Kirby share a quiet moment together in Peta's room, Ohio, 1992. Therese Frare  Peta in hospice, Columbus, Ohio, 1992. Therese Frare  Bill and Kay Kirby, 1992. Therese Frare ## Transcript So, our recent report claimed that a 2004 study withheld a link between vaccines and autism in African American boys. No surprise, the anti- vaccine crowd considered this a big win. But again and always, they're wrong. Here's why. [ MUSIC ] First, the subjects excluded from the study had no birth certificates available. Meaning data on their mother's age, race and more could not be confirmed. And that information was vital for the work the investigators were doing, More important, the people criticizing the research make the familiar mistake of confusing associated with causation. While it's true that the study did find a slightly higher rate of autism among some kids vaccinated between 24 and 36 months of age, it's almost certain that those children were already autistic and were vaccinated later as part of a basic health requirement for attending special education program [ MUSIC ] programs. If you join the Army and get a mandatory crewcut before basic training, you don't then conclude that military service causes baldness. Finally, the narrator of a disgraceful web video spreading the rumors about the study is Andrew Wakefield. The British researcher whose fraudulent 1998 paper falsely linking vaccines to autism got the entire got the entire anti- vaccine mess started. Wakefield has had his license to practice medicine revoked in the UK. And is hardly in a position to be offering opinions on anything at all. So for the billionth time, vaccines are safe, effective and vitally important. Rumor mongering, on the other hand, can kill. 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