ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo says new state figures show the number of new HIV diagnoses has dropped to a new low since the peak of the epidemic.

Cuomo in a Wednesday announcement says New York saw 2,481 new HIV diagnoses last year _ a 28% drop from 2014.

The state directs $20 million annually to Cuomo’s 2014 initiative to end the AIDS epidemic by the end of 2020. Health commissioner Howard Zucker says New York is making significant advances to reach that goal.

Cuomo’s office says 32,000 New Yorkers filled at least one prescription of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, last year. That’s up 32% from 2017.

New York will require health insurance plans to cover PrEP _ which greatly reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex _ without co-pays beginning Jan. 1.

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