Did you hear? In recognition of World AIDS Day last week, the Public Health Agency of Canada released a statement on behalf of the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health. Doctors Theresa Tam
(Chief Public Health Officer of Canada) and Heather Morrison Chief Medical Officer of Health, Prince Edward Island and Chair, Council of Chief of Medical Officers of Health) issued a joint statement that recognizes the science of undetectable equals untransmittable (U Equals U):
Across studies to date, there have been no confirmed cases of sexually transmitted HIV to an HIV-negative partner when the HIV-positive partner was continuously on antiretroviral therapy (ART) with sustained viral suppression. We have known for some time that ART is critical for maintaining and improving the health of a person living with HIV. It has also become evident that when a person living with HIV is on ART, takes their medications consistently as prescribed and maintains a confirmed suppressed viral load, there is effectively no risk of their passing the infection on to their sex partners.
It also acknowledges the importance of prevention, and what community knows well- the need for support and fighting stigma:
Achieving 90-90-90 in Canada will be dependent on our ability to encourage people to get tested and know their status, and to make better use of evidence-based approaches to testing, treatment and support. We know that if we do not address stigma and discrimination and reach out to those who need to be tested so that those individuals living with these infections can take advantage of available treatments, we will never succeed in our goal to prevent new infections.