Video
World AIDS Day: Hackney mayor Phil Glanville has public HIV test to spread word that undetectable means untransmissible
Phil Glanville has a HIV test. Picture: Hackney Council - Credit: Archant
Phil Glanville marked World AIDS Day by taking a HIV test in front of the cameras – in the hope of spreading a lifesaving message.
Phil Glanville and health boss Cllr Jonathan McShane with a Do It London HIV prevention poster. Picture: Hackney Council - Credit: Archant
The mayor’s blood test was in aid of a campaign by East End HIV charity Positive East called Undetectable – Untransmissible (U–U).
The message is that you can’t pass the virus on if you are taking modern HIV medication and have an undetectable viral load.
That means it’s actually safer to sleep with someone who has HIV but is being treated than it is to sleep with someone who hasn’t been tested and doesn’t know their status.
Mr Glanville said: “U–U is a powerful message in tackling HIV stigma which is still all too prevalent, affecting the lives of people living with HIV and our work to reduce transmission.
You may also want to watch:
“It is a message that we want our residents to know and understand, along with the many other ways they can reduce the risk of HIV transmission including regular testing, using condoms and now PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis, drugs you can take to minimise the risk of contracting the virus before you have sex].
“This is why I’m proud that Hackney Council is leading the way and supporting the pan-London ‘Do It London’ campaign – and why I continue to personally champion HIV awareness and fight stigma this World AIDS Day.”
Most Read
- 1 Delivery couriers boycott Dalston McDonald's
- 2 Two of the best boozers in Hackney, voted for by readers
- 3 Hackney acid attack: Man charged over 2019 assault which left two with life-changing injuries
- 4 Stoke Newington eatery voted favourite café by Gazette readers
- 5 Hackney's field-to-fork cooking school opens in Lower Clapton
- 6 Otas Sarkus: Two charged with murder after fatal shooting
- 7 Met Office issues yellow warning for heavy showers in London
- 8 Complaints about noise neighbours soared in Hackney during the pandemic
- 9 Undercover Met officers may have infiltrated Hackney CND
- 10 Decision to demolish 'irreplaceable' community hall in Hackney on hold
Mr Glanville will switch on the Christmas lights at the Rio Cinema in Dalston at 7.30pm today to mark both World AIDS Day and the beginning of the festive season.
