WHO urges countries to prioritize COVID-19 vaccine access for people living with HIV
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Just over 23 percent of the people living with the autoimmune virus HIV and who were hospitalized with coronavirus died, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report.
The report underscores that HIV infection is a significant independent risk factor for both severe and critical COVID-19 presentation at hospital admissions and in-hospital mortalities.
It surveyed data from 37 countries regarding the risk of poor COVID-19 outcomes in people living with HIV (PLHIV) admitted to hospital for the virus and found that the risk of developing severe or fatal COVID-19 was 30 percent greater in PLHIV compared to people with HIV infection.
Underlying conditions such as diabetes and hypertension are common among PLHIV.
Among men with HIV and over the age of 65, diabetes and hypertension were associated with an increased risk of more severe and fatal COVID-19.
“This highlights the need for PLHIV to stay as healthy as possible, regularly access and take their ARV (antiretroviral) medications and prevent and manage underlying conditions,” the WHO said.
“This also means that people living with HIV — independent of their immune status — should be prioritized for vaccination in most settings.”
Director of WHO’s Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programmes Dr Meg Doherty said: “The report released today will have important policy implications — providing data to confirm that HIV is a risk for poor outcomes from COVID-19 — and increases the urgency to see all PLHIV on treatment and with access to COVID-19 vaccinations.”
An informal WHO poll also revealed that out of 100 countries with information, 40 countries prioritized PLHIV for COVID-19 vaccination.
It is unclear whether those with HIV were prioritized in The Bahamas’ vaccination campaign.
The data was gleaned from the WHO’s Global Clinical Platform for COVID-19, which collects individual-level clinical data and characterizes COVID-19 among individuals hospitalized with suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection globally.
The WHO is expected to release updated guidelines on HIV prevention, testing, treatment, service delivery and monitoring later this week.
The guidelines are expected to provide over 200 evidence-informed recommendations and good practices for public health responses related to people with HIV.
“These recommendations help to ensure that people with HIV can start and continue treatment during times of service disruption as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the WHO said.
HIV continues to be a major global public health issue.
The virus has claimed the lives of 34.7 million people.
To reach the 95-95-95 global target set by UNAIDS, the WHO said countries need to redouble their efforts to avoid increasing HIV infections due to HIV service disruptions during the ongoing pandemic, “thereby slowing down the public health response to HIV”.
