Dr. Celine Gounder joins CBS Mornings to break down the FDA-approved drug Lenacapavir, which is being called the closest step yet to an HIV vaccine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Lenacapavir, marketed as Yes2Go, as a new HIV prevention drug. This twice-yearly injection demonstrated nearly 100% efficacy in clinical trials, marking a significant advancement in HIV prevention efforts. Unlike previous methods that required daily pills, Lenacapavir offers greater convenience and may improve adherence, particularly among people of color and women, who have historically faced barriers to accessing preventive medications.

The clinical trials for Lenacapavir included groups often excluded from such research, such as pregnant and breastfeeding women, allowing these populations immediate access to the medication. Despite its high list price of $28,000 per year, patient assistance programs aim to reduce out-of-pocket costs. However, recent cuts to the CDC's HIV prevention program may affect the rollout and public education efforts related to this new drug.

New HIV prevention drug marks major breakthrough

A massive breakthrough in HIV prevention. Last month, the FDA approved a drug called Lenacapavir. Someone more fluent than me will say it again very soon. Also known as Yes2Go. It's a twice yearly injection that has shown nearly 100% efficacy in preventing HIV infection in clinical trials. And it's being called the closest we've come to an HIV vaccine. CBS News Medical Contributor, Dr. Selene Gounder, joins us now with more. She's Editor-at-Large for Public Health at KFF Health News. Dr. Gounder, good morning. Say it better than me. How do we pronounce this? So the big breakthrough with Lenacapavir, also known by the brand name Yes2Go, is convenience and adherence. So until now, people have had to take a daily pill to prevent HIV infection. Now we're talking about two injections a year. So this is an especially big deal for people who've had difficulty accessing preventive medications until now, specifically people of color and women. So around half of new HIV infections among women in the United States are among black women. And at best, 10% of high risk black women are on preventive medications. So this will make it a lot easier for many more women to be on these meds. I asked sexual health educator, Goody Howard, what this approval means to women like her. If you are in a relationship where there's a power dynamic and you're not the one in power, and maybe you need this relationship to survive, or you need to be in this relationship to make sure you have somewhere to stay, or your children have somewhere to stay, et cetera, you know that your partner has other partners or what have you, but you need to be in this relationship. You know at least that you are doing what you need to do to maintain your sexual health around HIV. And this trial also includes groups that are often left out of the research, right? And what groups are those and why is that important? Yeah, so this is a really important difference with this particular clinical trial. So most clinical trials will exclude pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding, and as a result, it can take eight to 10 years longer for those women to have access to new medications. And because the researchers were really intentional about including those women in the trials, doing so safely, women who are breastfeeding or pregnant can access this preventive medication right away. A key group for that too. What about pricing and access? So this is a really important point. The list price for Olenocapavir is $28,000. Now insurance companies don't necessarily pay for that list price, so $28,000 per year. And there are patient assistance programs that can make it available. So in this case, they're saying $0 copay to the patient, but that's still a huge difference from the generic pills, which can cost as little as $400 a year versus $28,000 a year. So that's being covered by the insurance company, but still, inevitably, that gets passed down to the consumer. All this is happening, though, with the backdrop of cuts to the CDC's HIV prevention program. How is that going to impact the rollout of this drug? Well, the HIV prevention program at CDC, they would normally be doing provider education, so teaching doctors and other healthcare providers who is a candidate for this medication, how to prescribe it. They would be doing patient outreach and education, HIV testing, because if you're HIV positive, you can't be on a preventive medication. All kinds of public awareness campaigns and community outreach. But we've seen a billion, with a B, dollars cut from HIV prevention at the CDC, half the workforce. So they're not gonna have the resources they normally would to push out this kind of new breakthrough. Dr. Gounder, thank you very much. It's really important information.

Russia pummeled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war, injuring at least 23 people and damaging buildings across the capital only hours after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Russia's Vladimir Putin, officials said.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Russia hits Kyiv with largest drone attack after Trump-Putin call

U.S. President Donald Trump marked the passage of the new spending bill, which includes changes to food assistance, student loan programs, and clean energy credits. Robert Costa joins "CBS Mornings" to break down what's in the legislation.

Washington

Trump set to sign "big, beautiful bill"

More than 80 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Thursday (July 3), according to health officials, as Israel intensified its strikes, hitting a school-turned-displacement facility. CNN’s Paula Hancocks looks at the damage and humanitarian toll.

Jerusalem

More than 80 people killed in Gaza in one day

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv will do "anything" to advance EU accession talks. Zelenskyy spoke alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Ukraine will do 'anything' to advance EU accession talks: Zelenskyy

President Donald Trump said Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals.

Global Tariffs

Trump: Letters telling countries their tariff rate going out Friday

Indonesian rescuers on Thursday (July 3) temporarily halted a search for 30 people still missing after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the island of Bali with the loss of six lives, the national search and rescue agency said.

Gilimanuk

Indonesia suspends search for 30 missing after ferry sinks near Bali

After marathon debate sessions in the Senate and House, President Donald Trump’s budget bill passed in the House. Republicans secured the biggest win of Trump’s presidency.

Trump’s landmark ‘big, beautiful bill’ narrowly passes U.S. House

Florida says the first group of migrant detainees have arrived at the new immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz." CBS News correspondent Shanelle Kaul has more.

Ochopee

First group of detainees arrive at "Alligator Alcatraz," Florida says

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday (July 3) that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that he plans to hold a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. CBS News White House reporter Willie James Inman has more.

Trump speaks with Putin, plans call with Zelenskyy

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez reports on a lawsuit from lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia alleging he suffered “torture and mistreatment” after he was wrongfully deported and held in El Salvador’s notorious mega prison.

Tecoluca

Kilmar Abrego Garcia claims he was tortured in El Salvadoran prison

The Kremlin welcomed the development, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov claiming it proves Western arsenals are being depleted and predicting that less aid will hasten the end of the conflict.

U.S. pauses military aid to Ukraine over depleted weapons stockpile

Two contractors employed by UG Solutions spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity as they were revealing their employers’ internal operations.

U.S. contractors say live ammo used at Gaza aid distribution site

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for hours on the House floor about potential impacts of President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" that Republicans are looking to pass before July 4. Following debate, the House is set for a final vote on the massive budget bill.

House debates Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' ahead of final vote

CBS News political contributor Caroline Polisi joins "CBS Mornings" to break down the jury's verdict in Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal trial and the judge's decision to deny bail for the music mogul ahead of his sentencing.

Manhattan

Sean "Diddy" Combs denied bail after split verdict

Liverpool soccer player Diogo Jota has died aged 28, just weeks after marrying his childhood sweetheart. The footballer passed away in a car crash in northern Spain.

Madrid

Liverpool soccer player dies in car crash 10 days after wedding

The Pentagon said that U.S. strikes 10 days ago had degraded Iran's nuclear program by up to two years, suggesting the U.S. military operation likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public.

Tehran

Iran Strikes

Iran nuclear program degraded by up to two years: Pentagon

Days before his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama announced the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a non-profit he founded, will have the sole authority to recognize his future reincarnation, but China insists it will choose the successor of the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Lhasa

China rejects Dalai Lama’s succession plan

The U.S. Congress inched towards approving President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, despite attempts by Democrats to stop it. The bill is Trump’s signature legislation which includes massive spending increases on the military and immigration enforcement while slashing social programs.

Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill nears approval

Sean (Diddy) Combs was found guilty on prostitution-related charges, but was acquitted on more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking giving him a maximum sentence of 20 years. But the courtroom victory was subdued following a judge’s ruling to deny him bail.

New York

Diddy denied bail, avoids life in prison

President Trump says Israel has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, but it remains unclear if Hamas will accept the terms. CBS News senior foreign correspondent Debora Patta has more.

Trump says Israel has agreed to Gaza ceasefire conditions

Bryan Kohberger changed his plea to guilty Wednesday for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. CBS News national correspondent Carter Evans has more on the case.

Boise

New details revealed as Kohberger pleads guilty for 2022 Idaho murders

The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down a state abortion law that was adopted in 1849 in a 4-3 landmark decision. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul reports.

Madison

Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down 176-year-old state abortion ban

Macron and Putin held regular discussions around the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Macron visiting Putin in Russia in February 2022, but dialogue eventually stalled.

Paris

Macron held 'substantial' phone call with Putin

President Trump toured “Alligator Alcatraz,” a migrant detention center he teamed up with Ron DeSantis to build in the Everglades.

Everglades

Protesters gather around ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ as President Trump visits

Jurors in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal criminal trial said they have reached a verdict on four of the five counts, but they cannot reach a verdict on Count 1, which is racketeering conspiracy. The judge has instructed the jury to keep deliberating. Deliberations will resume Wednesday (July 2).

Jury reaches partial verdict in Sean "Diddy" Combs case

The U.S. Senate passed the Republicans' reconciliation bill on Tuesday (July 1) after more than 24 hours of marathon voting on amendments. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote.

U.S. Senate passes Trump's "big, beautiful bill"

The new order does not rescind existing sanctions on ousted longtime President Bashar al-Assad, his top aides, officials and family members who are accused of having committed war crimes and human rights violations against Syrian civilians.

Trump signs executive order lifting U.S. sanctions on Syria

Former criminology graduate student Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to killing four Idaho college students in 2022, a move that would spare him the death penalty under a deal with prosecutors, ABC News reported on Monday (June 30).

Moscow

Suspect in murders of four Idaho college students to plead guilty

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, adding to mounting pressure on a government fighting for survival on multiple fronts.

Bangkok

Thai court suspends PM from duty pending case seeking her dismissal

Israeli strikes killed at least 60 people across Gaza on June 30 in some of the heaviest attacks in weeks as Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by U.S. President Donald Trump.