Florida, Epicenter of HIV, Receives Millions to Combat Transmissions

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will give the state of Florida $10.6 million as part of a federal program called “Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S.”

State and local health departments across the country will receive a total of $117 million to address HIV services in communities, according to radio station WUSF.

Florida counties Hillsborough, Pinellas, Broward, Duval, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Palm Beach will receive the funding. Officials from the CDC want the money to go toward syringe service programs and STI clinics.

Hillsborough and Pinellas counties have been listed as one of the country’s 48 “areas of concern” when it comes to HIV transmission rates, reported The Tampa Bay Times. Groups in Florida working in HIV health services believe many people are not aware of their status.

The groups also have voiced concern that not enough people are taking PrEP.

About 8 percent of the estimated 121,000 Florida residents that could qualify for PrEP took it regularly in 2018, according to research by the University of Virginia and reported by the Times.

The CDC disbursed the funding to states depending on the severity of the HIV epidemic in each one. Florida received the most funding, which followed the CDC reporting that the Sunshine State had the highest number of new HIV transmissions in the country.

In 2019, Florida reported almost 4,600 new HIV transmissions.