HIV self test kits?

They may not be all that.

An article called HIV self-test kits are meant to empower those at risk − but they don’t necessarily lead to starting HIV treatment or prevention was published today in The Conversation. The article discusses the use of at-home HIV self testing kits, and their findings that self-testing may not increase the number of people who access “needed HIV treatment” (if results are positive) or who access “preventative treatment” or PrEP (if results are negative).

Based on the 15 studies that met our criteria, we found that while HIV self-testing increased a person’s chances of finding an HIV clinic or doctor by 8%, many people did not initiate HIV treatment or PrEP following self-testing.

I can see why a modest increase of only 8% might be concerning for some. Furthermore, per the article (boldface added by me):

Many people are living with HIV and receiving treatment. However, some HIV-positive people are unaware of their HIV status and are at risk of infecting other people. Routinely checking your HIV status is important to prevent the spread of HIV.

Unfortunately, HIV testing is low in many regions of the world. Researchers from South Africa, the Netherlands and the United States have reported a lack of HIV testing among different parts of the population, including men who have sex with men. There are many barriers to HIV testing, including lack of knowledge about HIV and fear of stigma and discrimination.

Despite the availability of HIV test kits, many people at heightened risk have never been tested for HIV. As our research shows, some of those who test positive don’t receive treatment. Nor do all those who test negative but are at risk of infection receive preventive treatment or change their sexual behavior.

“Routinely checking your HIV status is important to prevent the spread of HIV.” Like the Covid testing scam, this is a blatant effort to find as many “positive” individuals as possible—many of whom (arguably all of whom) are falsely testing positive, even within the framework of the HIV AIDS paradigm. Routine testing for PrEP users not only makes money for the test manufacturers, but if a routine test comes up positive, what do you suppose happens? You get prescribed additional drugs! It’s really a win-win for the pharmaceutical companies.

In conclusion:

We found only one study that looked at how HIV self-testing influences PrEP use among men who have sex with men.

More research is needed to better understand the link between HIV self-testing and HIV prevention.

What I want to know is, if the end goal is to “retain in care” every single HIV-positive individual, as well as a large swath of the HIV-negative population, why even bother testing? Why not sell PrEP to everyone, like they did with the Covid vaccines? Yes, I’m being a little bit tongue in cheek here, but my theory is that the hopes for an “HIV vaccine” that would be marketed to everyone have deflated, so the HIV establishment has decided PrEP can just be used as a vaccine. It amazes me how many people are falling for such a ridiculous, blatantly money-grabbing scheme. At the end of the day, though, whether it’s a test given by a medical professional or a test administered by the individual at their home, the result is the same. The patient gets sucked into the dangerous world of “HIV treatment,” and unless they are very careful, they end up “retained in care” for life, or worse, iatrogenically injured for life. There has to be a better way.

To support my work on Substack, please purchase my book for yourself or for a friend, and leave a review on Amazon. You can learn about efforts to ban my book here. You can also order my new book Almost Cancelled.