Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin this week vetoed a bill that would have made it illegal for health and life insurance companies to discriminate against individuals who have taken pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention.

House Bill 2769, titled Life or Health Insurances; Unfair Discrimination, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for Prevention of HIV, was passed by both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly. The bill cleared the Virginia House of Delegates with 53 yeas and 44 nays and the Senate of Virginia with 24 yeas and 15 nays.

Under the Affordable Care Act, PrEP is covered by most insurance companies, meaning the medication should be available through employer-sponsored private health insurance plans, individual healthcare plans purchased via HealthCare.gov or state-based marketplaces, as well as Medicaid expansion coverage.

If the Virginia General Assembly fails to override Youngkin’s veto, insurance companies operating in Virginia will be allowed to continue discriminating against PrEP users by charging them higher premiums or even denying them coverage altogether.

According to recent data from UNAIDS, gay men and other men who have sex with men are 7.7 times more likely to contract HIV. Since the first cases of HIV were reported, 78 million people have been infected with the virus, and 35 million have died from AIDS-related illnesses.

Currently, there are three FDA-approved forms of PrEP: Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), available for individuals of all genders; Descovy (emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide), approved for use by individuals assigned male at birth; and Apretude (cabotegravir), an injectable PrEP administered every other month by a healthcare professional.

According to the FDA, PrEP reduces the risk of acquiring HIV from sex by about 99% when taken as prescribed and lowers the risk by at least 74% among people who inject drugs. Since its approval, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3.5 million people received PrEP at least once in 2023.

Despite the bill’s passage in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, Youngkin vetoed the legislation, a move that disproportionately impacts the LGBTQ community and others at higher risk of HIV.

The Washington Blade reached out to Youngkin’s office for comment but has not received a response.

Following their recent protests at school board meetings in Virginia to challenge the Trump-Vance administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies, a student-led rights group on Wednesday outlined plans to continue their actions.

The Pride Liberation Project released a statement in early March announcing their “March Month of Action” after their first round of protests. The Pride Liberation Project on Wednesday issued another press release that provided additional details.

“Queer students will rally at local school board meetings across Virginia, as they call for education leaders to reject the Trump-Musk’s administration escalating attacks against queer people.” said Conifer Selintung on behalf of the Pride Liberation Project. “Since taking office, the Trump-Musk administration has ignored the real issues facing our schools — like declining reading scores and the mental health crisis — and tried to bully queer students into the closet. Alongside other hateful attacks, they’ve attacked nondiscrimination protections, banned gender-affirming care, and whitewashed history.”

The Pride Liberation Project press release also included a statement from Moth, an LGBTQ student at McLean High School.

“I want to be able to go to school as myself, just like any other student,” said Moth. “To do that, I need my school board to stand up to bullies.”

The Pride Liberation Project has also released a schedule of rallies it plans to hold this month.

The first rally took place at the Prince William County School Board meeting in Manassas on Wednesday. A second event took place at the Roanoke County School Board meeting on Thursday.

Additional rallies are scheduled to take place in Rockingham and York Counties on March 24, Loudoun County on March 25, and Fairfax County on March 27.

The Warren County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-1 in favor of defunding the Samuels Public Library in Front Royal after some residents complained about certain books in the library.

“The library is a nonprofit overseen by a board of trustees, but it counts on the county for about 70 percent of its operating budget.” NBC Washington reported. “The board has been trying to gain more control over the library after some residents complained about certain books in the collection.”

The Winchester Star in 2023 reported a wide-array of books with queer themes have been targeted by those who wish to remove stories about LGBTQ families and people. They have sought to ban children who frequent the library, which is more than 200 years old, from reading them.

Some of the books targeted were “Over the Shop” by JonArno Lawson, “Pride Colors” by Robin Stevenson, “Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle” by Nina LaCour, “Plenty of Hugs” by Fran Manushkin, “I Love You Because I Love You,” by Muon Thi Van, and “Bathe the Cat” by Alice B. McGinty. 

“Samuels Public Library serves more than 41,000 people in the County of Warren.” according to the library’s website. “In the last fiscal year, the Library had more than 127,000 visitors, over 400,000 checkouts, and hosted 542 programs that saw 19,194 attendees.”