New York City health officials are pushing the use of the anti-HIV drug Truvada.

In the city that never sleeps, some people are welcoming this new health initiative, while others are suggesting that Truvada is not a cure and neither does it override the use of a condom.  

Over a week ago, New York City health officials started with their anti-HIV pill campaign on Gay hook-up apps sites such as Grindr and Scruff. The backlash and criticism of the use of Truvada has caused infighting among GLBT groups and AIDS activists. There is a study out that shows the pros and cons of using Truvada, but it does not resolve the controversial use of the blue pill.

The New York City's Health Department has noble intentions. They have been lobbying doctors to promote the use of the anti-HIV pill. Truvada reportedly reduces the risk of infection by more than half, Newsday reported.

A brief history of Truvada: In the beginning the blue pill was used to treat those who were HIV positive. Since 2012, it has been approved by federal and global public health agencies for what is known as "pre-exposure prophylaxis," or PrEP, Medical Xpress reported. Nationwide, 2,319 people have started using PrEP between Jan. 2012 and Sept. 2013. What this means is that fewer than 3,000 new HIV cases have been reported.

Truvada is seen as a prevention option, and in fact it is recommended for men -- gay men or men who sleep with men -- who are not diligent about condom use. The drug is not cheap; it costs almost $2,000.00 per month, and it has to be taken once daily, Medical Xpress reported.

But the PrEP drug is covered by most insurance; and it is heavily subsidized so one can afford it.

The debate for Truvada begins. Some AIDS activists say that by promoting the drug they are promoting promiscuity, rather than safe sex practices.

"There's this huge infighting going on around PrEP in the gay community, a lot of finger-pointing around this particular drug, which is unfortunate," Perry Halkitis, a professor at New York University, said, Newsday reported.

The older generation of AIDS activists have seen HIV and AIDS taken a calamitous toll before drugs like Truvada were introduced. But these activists are also against the use of Truvada. Larry Kramer, author, playwright and AIDS activist, has stated that the PrEP users are "cowardly." Meaning, why would one choose antivirals like PrEP rather than simply using condoms, Newsday reported.

Some doctors like Anthony Hayes agree with Kramer. Hayes, a spokesman for the Gay Men' Health Crisis (GMHC) which supports PrEP, stated that if he has to scold patients about their sexual practices, then he will not prescribe it, Newsday reported.

The study on Truvada tells a broader picture. The study observed men who had sex with men; they were called iPrEx. It found that HIV negative men who were prescribed daily Truvada were 44 percent less likely to contract the virus versus those who were given a placebo. Out of the 48 iPrEx subjects who were given the Truvada had contracted HIV, only four presented a detectable level of the drug in their system when diagnosed, The New York Times reported. The levels indicated that, in the cases of these four, the drug had been taken only twice a week.

The sample size of subjects in the study was 2,500, with half of those taking the placebo. The amount of people in the study does not indicate that Truvada is 100 percent effective when taken daily. Only 18 percent of the subjects who had taken the blue pill actually showed signs of it in their bloodstream.

Based on the information that the iPrEx researchers in the study had gathered, they were able to create a model. In 2012, the model indicated that people who took Truvada every day had a 99 percent reduced risk in contracting HIV, The New York Times reported.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the New York City's health department's new assistant commissioner for HIV/AIDS control and prevention, has a plan and experience. He was previously the top AIDS doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital. Daskalakis calls himself a "gay health warrior," Newsday reported.

"There's not a lot of doctors who can say, 'I've done thousands of HIV [blood] tests with my hands in dark sex clubs,'" Daskalakis said. "I have done that."

At the moment, the city is spending approximately half a million dollars to encourage PrEP. They are doing it with outreach programs and ads on Facebook, Twitter and hook-up apps, Newsday reported  

One ad says "Share the Night, Not HIV." The focus for Daskalakis are young black and Latino men. According to their studies, these groups are at a higher risk for contracting HIV, Newsday reported.