NHS England confirms it will not fund HIV prevention pill

NHS England has confirmed its decision not to fund pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for the prevention of HIV infection, to the anger of AIDS charities.

Prevention of HIV is the job of local authorities, NHS England said in explaining its decision—but even if it were not, in competition with other specialist areas of care, PrEP would not necessarily have won its bid for NHS England’s financial support.

Deborah Gold, chief executive of the National Aids Trust, called the decision “astonishing.” Every day 17 people have HIV diagnosed, she said, …