This story was originally reported by Orion Rummler of The 19th, and republished through Rewire News Group‘s partnership with The 19th News Network.

Decades of progress in HIV treatment and prevention in the United States is being derailed by the Trump administration, public health experts say—and without reversing course, the damage will be devastating. 

Threats to key federal programs are unfolding just as science has significantly advanced how easily patients can treat and manage HIV—leaving experts deeply frustrated. The development of a vaccine, which researchers believed was closer than ever to becoming a reality, is now dead in its tracks. A twice-yearly dose of PrEP to prevent HIV, approved by the Food and Drug Administration this year, is expected to have significant benefits—but experts are concerned about who will be able to afford this drug. Millions of Americans are expected to lose health-care coverage due to Trump’s federal spending cuts.

Employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reportedly been tasked with dismantling their own work at the agency’s HIV prevention division. Researchers at the state level are also struggling. At one of the country’s oldest and largest historically Black medical schools in Tennessee, $2 million in federal HIV research funding has been scrapped. Federal programs funding the country’s pivotal HIV services are in danger of being defunded or eliminated completely. 

On top of these cuts, Medicaid, the single largest source of insurance coverage for adults with HIV in the country, has been slashed—creating a dire situation for HIV-positive Americans. About 4 in 10 Americans living with HIV rely on Medicaid. New paperwork requirements go into effect in 2027, which advocates expect will keep many people from renewing their coverage or enrolling at all. 

“For HIV-positive people right now, I think this is a very depressing moment,” said Perry Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers........

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