Cabotegravir is an injectable HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, which is available on the NHS.

Cabotegravir or Cab for PrEP is for people who cannot take oral PrEP.

This includes people who:

1. cannot swallow or absorb tablets
2. have not been able to take PrEP tablets as prescribed
3. cannot have oral tablets due to social or personal circumstances

Injectable PrEP can take the worry out of having PrEP at home.

Injectable PrEP is free, regardless of your immigration status.

How effective is Cabotegravir PrEP?

It has been shown in trials to be better than oral PrEP at reducing HIV acquisition (>99% effective).

There is a small chance, despite on time injections, you may acquire HIV (<1%).

Condoms are still advised, and you may be offered DoxyPEP, see our separate video.

Cab is not recommended in pregnancy. You will have a pregnancy test at baseline, and we will advise on a suitable method of contraception for you if required.

Are there any side-effects?

Common side effects include: Injection site reactions (that reduce over time), headache and nausea.

There is no need for kidney or liver monitoring.

Cabotegravir injections (and when oral CAB may be needed)

You must have a negative HIV blood test before starting cabotegravir. This will be checked at each visit.

Cab tablets can be taken daily as an optional oral lead in, but this is not needed or recommended in most cases. It is important you take multivitamins or liquid heart burn medicines 2 hours before or 4 hours after oral cabotegravir. If taken at the wrong time, they will stop the PrEP from working.

It takes 7 days after starting oral or injectable cabotegravir for it to be effective.

Injections 1 and 2 are given 1 month apart and are called initiation injections.

Injections 3 onwards are every two months and are called maintenance injections.

You will be given your next injection date before you leave clinic.

What happens if I miss my target injection date?

We will confirm your ability to attend your planned injection before you leave clinic.

If you miss your planned injection, you have a 7-day window period to get your injection.

If you miss this, you will need oral cab tablets daily until you get your next injection. This cannot be more than 2 months.

You may need loading with 2 initiation injections again, your doctor or nurse will advise.

We strongly advise you to not miss your injection date.

What happens if I want to stop Cab PrEP?

It is important you let your doctor or nurse know you’re thinking about stopping, as cab can be in the blood at levels that do not offer protection from HIV for up to 12 months.

Upon stopping CAB we may offer you an alternative form of PrEP, condoms, and further HIV tests for you and your sexual contacts.

The first step is talking to Leeds Sexual Health or signing up online.

They will help you decide if PrEP is right for you, test you for HIV and other infections, offer you contraception or catch-up smears, and monitor your health while you are on it.

Empower yourself today, and consider CAB PrEP to protect you from HIV.