Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo stresses the need for HIV testing

Image via Colin Hackley.

Joseph Ladapo appeared at Tampa General Hospital on Monday touting the state’s aggressive efforts to curb what he called an HIV epidemic. He said testing is key to those efforts.

The remarks were made alongside Lt. Gov Jeanette Nuñez, who appeared with Ladapo and hospital physicians to mark National HIV Testing Day.

In 2019 the Florida Department of Health identified nearly 4,600 people who were diagnosed with HIV for the first time. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in eight people living with HIV in the United States is undiagnosed, and more than one-third of all new HIV infections are transmitted by people who don’t know they have HIV.

Statistics like that underscore the need for testing and prophylactic treatment to prevent the spread of HIV, health officials said.

Ladapo said when it comes to HIV, the” big picture” is to expand access to programs that are effective in reducing the burden of HIV in Florida.

Nuñez said the DeSantis administration takes full advantage of the available federal HIV funds, which sets it apart from the previous administration.

The Guardian reported that Former Gov. Rick Scott’s administration let $54 million for prescription drug reimbursements for low-income HIV patients go unspent between 2015 and 2017.