HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Ontario, 2022

By 2022, the total estimated number of individuals dispensed PrEP over the year was 14,650; a 10-fold increase from the estimated 1,451 individuals dispensed PrEP in 2016. [...] The weighting method considers the number of pharmacies in a given area, the distance between IQVIA-captured and uncaptured pharmacies, and the size of the pharmacies. [...] There was a plateau in the number of PrEP users in 2020 compared to 2019 – likely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – followed by an increase in 2021 and again in 2022. [...] The decrease in HIV testing and HIV diagnoses seen during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic were contributing factors to the faster increases of the PrEP-to-need ratio observed in 2020 and 2021 while a recovery in HIV testing and HIV diagnoses in 2022 contributed to a smaller increase in the PrEP-to-need ratios among males and a decrease among females relative to 2021. [...] The decrease in HIV testing and HIV diagnoses seen during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the faster increases in the PrEP-to-need ratio observed in 2020 and 2021 while a recovery in HIV testing and HIV diagnoses in 2022 contributed to a smaller increase in the PrEP-to-need ratios among males and a decrease among females compared to 2021.