Evidence

The nearly 40 million people living with HIV (PLWH) worldwide, are gravely concerned about the impact of COVID-19 . This review of current literature did not find evidence of higher prevalence of COVID-19 amongst PLWH, but there is equivocal data on increased mortality and worse clinical outcomes. Having HIV does not confer protection against severe manifestations of COVID-19. Several studies looking at antiretroviral drugs against HIV to treat COVID-19 have shown no mortality benefit. Thus, there is no indication to change antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens among virologically suppressed PLWH to prevent COVID-19. HIV care delivery has been adversely impacted in several countries during this pandemic but has created an opportunity for accelerating effective strategies such as multi-month ART. Decentralizing HIV care in low-resource settings and incorporating telemedicine in high-resource settings will be critical in mitigating shocks to healthcare systems in the future. This is a useful review for policy makers.  Click here to read the document.