Prevention check
Should I take PrEP to prevent HIV?
PrEP is medicine taken before exposure to lower the chance of getting HIV. The US Preventive Services Task Force lists who should be considered for it. Check whether the criteria match you.
About you
Nothing you enter leaves this page.
What you will see
Whether the USPSTF criteria for considering HIV PrEP match you.
Educational only, not medical advice. Talk to a clinician about PrEP.
Source
US Preventive Services Task Force, August 2023 recommendation on preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent acquisition of HIV.
Validated in
Adolescents and adults without HIV who weigh at least 35 kg (77 lb).
Limits
It checks the criteria the USPSTF lists; it cannot prescribe PrEP or replace the HIV and other tests needed before starting. Risk of HIV exists on a continuum, and no risk tool is perfect.
What the USPSTF recommends
| Who | Recommendation | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Adolescents and adults at increased risk of HIV, weighing at least 35 kg (77 lb) | Clinicians prescribe PrEP with effective antiretroviral therapy | A |
The USPSTF concludes with high certainty that PrEP has a substantial net benefit for people at increased risk (USPSTF 2023). It also asks clinicians to take a sexual and injection drug use history from all patients and to tell everyone who is sexually active or injects drugs that HIV can be prevented (USPSTF 2023).
Who should be considered for PrEP
Sexually active adults and adolescents who have had anal or vaginal sex in the past 6 months and have any of these (USPSTF 2023):
- A sex partner with HIV, especially if the partner's viral load is unknown or detectable.
- A bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the past 6 months: syphilis, gonorrhea or chlamydia for men who have sex with men and transgender women; gonorrhea or syphilis for heterosexual women and men.
- Inconsistent or no condom use with partners whose HIV status is not known.
People who inject drugs and have an injecting partner with HIV, or who share injection equipment, should also be considered (USPSTF 2023). Transgender women and people who exchange sex for money, drugs or housing are at higher risk and should be considered based on the same criteria. People who ask for PrEP may have risks they have not mentioned (USPSTF 2023).
How well PrEP works
In 11 trials with more than 18,000 people, daily oral PrEP (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate with or without emtricitabine) cut the risk of getting HIV by about half compared with placebo or no PrEP (relative risk 0.46) (USPSTF 2023). How well it works depends on taking it: in trials where adherence was 70% or higher, the relative risk was 0.27, and in trials where it was 40% or lower, PrEP showed no clear benefit (USPSTF 2023).
PrEP medicines and side effects
At the time of the 2023 recommendation, FDA-approved PrEP options were oral TDF/FTC, oral TAF/FTC and injectable cabotegravir, all for adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kg. Oral TAF/FTC is not approved for people at risk from receptive vaginal sex (USPSTF 2023).
Since then, on June 18, 2025, the FDA approved lenacapavir (Yeztugo) for PrEP: an injection under the skin every 6 months, after starting doses of an injection plus tablets. It is approved for adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kg who are at risk of sexually acquired HIV, and needs a negative HIV test before starting and before each injection (FDA 2025). The 2023 USPSTF review did not include it. Ask your clinician which options suit you.
Harms are small and depend on the medicine: kidney and stomach or bowel side effects, weight gain, and injection site reactions (USPSTF 2023).
Before and during PrEP
Everyone starting PrEP needs a recent negative HIV test, because PrEP medicines alone do not treat HIV and can lead to drug resistance in someone who already has it (USPSTF 2023). Testing for other sexually transmitted infections and, when appropriate, pregnancy is also recommended; for tenofovir-based PrEP, kidney function and hepatitis B tests too. Follow-up includes HIV testing every 2 to 3 months, depending on the medicine (USPSTF 2023). Counseling on taking PrEP as prescribed and on safer sex, including condoms, is part of getting the benefit (USPSTF 2023).
Common questions
Can I take PrEP while pregnant or breastfeeding?
No PrEP trial enrolled pregnant people. FDA labeling permits TDF/FTC during pregnancy and breastfeeding, weighing the benefits against possible effects on the baby (USPSTF 2023).
Does PrEP protect against other infections?
PrEP medicines are for preventing HIV. The USPSTF says people taking PrEP should also get counseling on safer sex, including condom use, and testing for other sexually transmitted infections (USPSTF 2023).
Also see the HIV screening check, the syphilis screening check, the chlamydia and gonorrhea screening check, the hepatitis B screening check and all screening tests by age.
Sources
- US Preventive Services Task Force. Preexposure Prophylaxis to Prevent Acquisition of HIV: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2023;330(8):736. www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/prevention-of-human-immunodeficiency-virus-hiv-infection-pre-exposure-prophylaxis
- Tanner MR, O'Shea JG, Byrd KM, et al. Antiretroviral Postexposure Prophylaxis After Sexual, Injection Drug Use, or Other Nonoccupational Exposure to HIV: CDC Recommendations, United States, 2025. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2025;74(1):1-56. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/rr/rr7401a1.htm
- US Food and Drug Administration. YEZTUGO (lenacapavir) prescribing information, NDA 220018, approved June 18, 2025. www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/220018s000lbl.pdf
Written and maintained by the uncovermyrisk.com editorial team. We do not have a medical reviewer; every claim links to its primary source above. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Spotted an error? See About.