New HIV Prevention Injection Marks a Major Step Forward in HIV Protection

A new injection that prevents HIV infection is being rolled out across some of the world's most affected countries. It is being described as the closest thing to a vaccine the world currently has, and the response from health organisations has been significant. 

In summary:

• What lenacapavir is and why it is being called a breakthrough
• Why the rollout is limited and what that means globally
• What all of this has to do with HIV testing in the UK right now
• The one step that is within your control, regardless of what happens next

Something genuinely significant has happened in HIV prevention. A twice-yearly injection called lenacapavir, developed by Gilead Sciences, is now being introduced in nine countries with some of the highest HIV infection rates in the world. The head of the UN Aids agency described it as the closest thing currently available to a vaccine against HIV, offering near complete protection against infection.

For people in those countries, particularly those in communities where daily prevention pills have been difficult to access consistently, this changes things in a real and immediate way. The injection removes one of the biggest practical barriers to staying protected.

But for people in the UK, the picture is different. Lenacapavir is not part of the current prevention offer here. The rollout is targeted at the highest-burden, lowest-resource settings first. And while the global development is worth understanding, the most relevant question for anyone in the UK is still the same one it has always been: do you know your HIV status?

What lenacapavir actually is

Lenacapavir belongs to the category of HIV prevention known as PrEP, pre-exposure prophylaxis. PrEP works by protecting people from acquiring HIV before any exposure occurs. Until now, the main PrEP option has been a daily pill. Lenacapavir replaces that with a twice-yearly injection, which makes consistent protection far more practical for people who struggle to maintain a daily medication routine.

Clinical trials showed near complete protection against HIV infection. The UN believes that if it is properly deployed at scale, it could help bring new infections to zero and effectively end the Aids epidemic. That is an ambitious target, but the mechanism is there. The challenge is delivery.

In wealthier countries, lenacapavir can cost up to 24,000 US dollars per year. For the current rollout in lower-income nations, it is being delivered at significantly reduced cost through a programme funded by the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria alongside other partners. The target is to reach three million people by 2028.

Why the breakthrough comes with serious caveats

Three million people by 2028 sounds significant. But UNAIDS has stated that tackling the pandemic requires getting 20 million people on PrEP within the next few years. Three million over three years is less than ten per cent of that target. Health organisations working on the ground, including Medecins Sans Frontieres, have described even the two million figure being discussed as far below global need.

The rollout currently covers nine countries. Large parts of Latin America, where infection rates are rising, have not yet received licences or procurement arrangements for the drug. Countries including Brazil, Peru and Mexico participated in the lenacapavir trials but do not yet have access through the existing systems. MSF has noted that organisations like theirs have been denied the right to purchase directly.

The context behind all of this matters too. At the start of 2025, the world was on track to end the Aids pandemic by 2030. That progress was disrupted by significant foreign aid cuts from the US, the UK, and other European countries, described as the biggest ever disruption to HIV response. In Eswatini, where the current rollout is happening, all 15 mobile charity clinics providing free HIV prevention services were shut following those cuts. In 2024, there were at least 1.3 million new HIV infections globally.

HIV prevention options and where they currently stand

What does this mean for people in the UK

The lenacapavir story is not directly actionable for most people in the UK right now. It is being prioritised for settings where need is highest and access to daily prevention is hardest. That is the right call, and the global Fund representative involved in the rollout described it as the first time in history that equitable access to a new HIV tool has been achieved from the start.

But one thing the global conversation reinforces is something that applies here too. Testing rates fluctuate. A proportion of people living with HIV in the UK remain undiagnosed. Aid cuts have affected HIV testing infrastructure not just in sub-Saharan Africa but in programmes closer to home. And an undiagnosed person cannot access treatment, cannot protect partners with full information, and faces worse health outcomes over time.

The gap between what is happening globally and what is relevant personally closes at one point: knowing your status. That is as true in the UK as it is anywhere else.

Who should be thinking about testing

HIV testing in the UK is straightforward. Sexual health clinics offer free testing, and home testing is available for people who prefer to test privately. Testing is recommended more frequently for people at higher risk, but the net is wider than most people assume.

The situations that make testing most relevant include:

• Any new sexual partner where HIV status is not known
• Unprotected sex, whether recent or in the past
• A previous positive STI diagnosis, which increases the risk of HIV transmission 
• Being from or having a partner from a country with high HIV prevalence
• Anyone who has never tested and is sexually active

Testing at home, on your terms

For people who want to test without visiting a clinic, Berkeley Health's HIV 1/2 rapid home test kit gives a result from a simple finger-prick blood sample in minutes. It tests for both HIV-1 and HIV-2 and is designed for straightforward home use without any clinical training.

A negative result provides clarity. A positive result is not an endpoint. It is the moment where effective treatment begins, and in the UK, treatment is accessible and works. People diagnosed and treated early live long and healthy lives. What makes the difference is not the result itself but how quickly it is known.

You can find the HIV 1/2 rapid test kit at berkeleyhealth.com.

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