ATLANTA — Data shows Fulton County continues to have one of the highest rates of HIV in the country, and gaps in health care are negatively impacting Black and brown communities.
A Vision 4 Hope is a local nonprofit that specializes in STD testing and care, aiming to provide better medicine access in the metro area.
Kendrick Bankhead, who works at the organization, said that he feels it’s his calling to focus on preventive care.
“In Atlanta, HIV is rising and we want to make sure that we get it under control by offering PrEP to people,” said Bankhead.
PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is a pill designed to lower the risk of HIV transmission.
“The most important thing is you have to take the medicine every day in order for it to work efficiently,” said Bankhead.
Access to the pill is crucial because of rising cases in metro Atlanta. According to the AIDSVu database, Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb and Gwinnett counties have some of the highest rates of people living with HIV in north Georgia.
At least 2,371 people were diagnosed with HIV in Georgia in 2021, CDC data shows.
A Vision 4 Hope’s deputy director, Lakeisha Coates, said many of her patients struggle to get the medicine that can help ease the number of cases.
“We do find like a lot of times, even though it has insurance, the insurance may not cover for the brand name,” said Coates. “In some areas you may not have access to a doctor.”
The clinic works with various organizations to supplement costs and bring awareness to the issue.
“You have to be in the community. You have to see your face in order for them to know,” said Coates.
A new report shows Atlanta continues to have one of the highest rates of HIV in the country, and gaps in health care is negatively impacting Black and brown communities.
A Vision 4 Hope, a local nonprofit organization that specializes in STD testing and care, is working to get communities in the metro better access to medicine.
Kendrick Bankhead, who works at the organization, said that he feels its his calling to focus on preventive care.
"In Atlanta, HIV is rising and we want to make sure that we get it under control by offering PrEP to people," said Bankhead.
PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is a pill designed to lower the risk of HIV transmission.
"The most important thing is you have to take the medicine every day in order for it to work efficiently," said Bankhead.
Access to the pill is crucial because of rising cases in metro Atlanta. According to the AIDSVu database, Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb and Gwinnett counties have some of the highest rates of people living with HIV in north Georgia.
At least 2,371 people were diagnosed with HIV in Georgia in 2021, CDC data shows.
A Vision 4 Hope's deputy director, Lakeisha Coates, said many of her patients have struggle to get the medicine that can help ease the number of new cases.
"We do find like a lot of times, even though it has insurance, the insurance may not cover for the brand name," said Coates. "In some areas you may not have access to a doctor."
The clinics works with various organizations to supplement costs and bring awareness to the issue.
"You have to be in the community. You have to see your face in order for them to know," said Coates.