{"id":30245,"date":"2026-01-07T07:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T07:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=30245"},"modified":"2026-01-14T23:21:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T23:21:46","slug":"prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"PrEP: The key to preventing HIV spread","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you take anything away from reading this,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/provider\/veronica-navarro\/\">Veronica Navarro, ARNP, FNP,<\/a>\u00a0hopes it\u2019s that you know PrEP exists.<\/p>\n<p>Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is used to prevent the transmission of HIV. When taken as prescribed, it can be up to 99 percent effective \u2014 meaning it will be key in ending the HIV epidemic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith PrEP use, the whole community has an extra layer of protection by up to 60 percent reduction in HIV transmission,\u201d says Navarro, an internal medicine provider for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/find-a-location\/rockwood-clinic\/\">MultiCare Rockwood Clinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Navarro is one of four clinic-based HIV specialists in the Inland Northwest. She works closely with her colleague,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/provider\/rachel-safran\/\">Rachel Safran, MD<\/a>, and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/srhd.org\/programs-and-services\/hiv-std-services\">Spokane Regional Health District<\/a>, to reduce the spread of HIV through education and prevention.<\/p>\n<p>Their key message: The spread of HIV is more than just an individual health concern \u2014 it\u2019s a public health issue.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, 461 new HIV cases were reported in Washington state. For several years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there had been a gradual decline in new HIV cases \u2014 but in recent years the numbers have either plateaued or increased.<\/p>\n<p>To reverse this trend, the community must know their risks and options.<\/p>\n<h2>Who\u2019s at risk of HIV?<\/h2>\n<p>Anyone seeking sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing should consider PrEP, or at least have the discussion, Navarro explains.<\/p>\n<p>While men who have sex with men (MSM), as well as women and people of color, are at greatest risk, PrEP consideration should be based on your overall sexual activity and safe sex practices, she says. Being married or in a monogamous heterosexual relationship doesn\u2019t eliminate risk.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also important for those between the ages of 18 and 22 to recognize the risk that runs within their peer groups, Navarro adds. Cases in this demographic are commonly caught late, or only sporadically, through urgent care clinics or school-based counselors.<\/p>\n<p>Many STIs are asymptomatic, meaning you may have minimal to no symptoms at all, which is why regular screening is so important, adds HIV specialist <a href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/provider\/caitlin-camfield\/\">Caitlin Camfield, MD<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/location\/multicare-infectious-disease-specialists-tacoma\/\">MultiCare Infectious Disease Specialists \u2014 Tacoma<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And, of course, engaging in unsafe sex practices will always put you and others at risk of infection.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you take anything away from reading this,\u00a0Veronica Navarro, ARNP, FNP,\u00a0hopes it\u2019s that you know PrEP exists. Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is used to prevent the transmission of HIV. When taken as prescribed, it can be up to 99 percent effective \u2014 meaning it will be key in ending the HIV epidemic. \u201cWith PrEP use, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":115,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,71,87,99,103,115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthy-living","category-mens-health","category-nutrition-wellness","category-primary-care","category-research","category-womens-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>PrEP: The key to preventing HIV spread - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Anyone seeking STI screening should also discuss HIV risk with their doctor or other health care provider.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PrEP: The key to preventing HIV spread - MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Anyone seeking STI screening should also discuss HIV risk with their doctor or other health care provider.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MultiCare Vitals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-07T07:00:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-14T23:21:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/01\/AdobeStock_579613376.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"933\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Samantha Malott\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Anyone seeking STI screening should also discuss HIV risk with their doctor or other health care provider.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/01\/AdobeStock_579613376.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@shannonwhitley\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Samantha Malott\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1237b5d541a93eafc81ff7120cc031ab\"},\"headline\":\"PrEP: The key to preventing HIV spread\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-07T07:00:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-14T23:21:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":362,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Healthy Living\",\"Men's Health\",\"Nutrition &amp; Wellness\",\"Primary Care\",\"Research &amp; Innovation\",\"Women's Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\\\/\",\"name\":\"PrEP: The key to preventing HIV spread - MultiCare Vitals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-07T07:00:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-14T23:21:46+00:00\",\"description\":\"Anyone seeking STI screening should also discuss HIV risk with their doctor or other health care provider.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"PrEP: The key to preventing HIV spread\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"name\":\"MultiCare Vitals\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MultiCare\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/MultiCare-Color.png\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":409,\"caption\":\"MultiCare\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/multicarehealthsystem\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/multicarehealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/multicare-health-system\\\/mycompany\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/multicarehealth\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1237b5d541a93eafc81ff7120cc031ab\",\"name\":\"Samantha Malott\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/shannonwhitley\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/updates-www.mccdn.io\\\/vitals\\\/author\\\/slmalott\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"PrEP: The key to preventing HIV spread - MultiCare Vitals","description":"Anyone seeking STI screening should also discuss HIV risk with their doctor or other health care provider.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"PrEP: The key to preventing HIV spread - MultiCare Vitals","og_description":"Anyone seeking STI screening should also discuss HIV risk with their doctor or other health care provider.","og_url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/","og_site_name":"MultiCare Vitals","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","article_published_time":"2026-01-07T07:00:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-14T23:21:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1400,"height":933,"url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/01\/AdobeStock_579613376.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Samantha Malott","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_description":"Anyone seeking STI screening should also discuss HIV risk with their doctor or other health care provider.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/01\/AdobeStock_579613376.jpg","twitter_creator":"@shannonwhitley","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/"},"author":{"name":"Samantha Malott","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/1237b5d541a93eafc81ff7120cc031ab"},"headline":"PrEP: The key to preventing HIV spread","datePublished":"2026-01-07T07:00:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-14T23:21:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/"},"wordCount":362,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Healthy Living","Men's Health","Nutrition &amp; Wellness","Primary Care","Research &amp; Innovation","Women's Health"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/","name":"PrEP: The key to preventing HIV spread - MultiCare Vitals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-01-07T07:00:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-14T23:21:46+00:00","description":"Anyone seeking STI screening should also discuss HIV risk with their doctor or other health care provider.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/prep-key-to-prevent-hiv-spread-sti-testing-hiv-risk\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"PrEP: The key to preventing HIV spread"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#website","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","name":"MultiCare Vitals","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#organization","name":"MultiCare","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/05\/MultiCare-Color.png","width":1500,"height":409,"caption":"MultiCare"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/multicarehealthsystem","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/multicarehealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/multicare-health-system\/mycompany\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/multicarehealth"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/#\/schema\/person\/1237b5d541a93eafc81ff7120cc031ab","name":"Samantha Malott","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/shannonwhitley"],"url":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/author\/slmalott\/"}]}},"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30245"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39047,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30245\/revisions\/39047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}