Interim Guidance for Continuing HIV Program Service Delivery during COVID-19 Pandemic

During initial days of COVID pandemic, HIV infection was not considered as a risk factor for COVID-19 or more severe disease. However, recent studies conducted in larger samples suggest that PLHIV (particularly with low CD4 counts or not under ART) if infected with COVID are more likely to have severe clinical course in comparison to HIV negatives (Ambrosioni et al 2021). Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has hugely disrupted HIV prevention and treatment services globally and created challenges to continue the essential service delivery. A recent modelling study suggests that in sub-Saharan Africa a 6-month interruption of ART would result in an excess of 500 000 adult deaths from HIV infection during a 4-year period and an up to twofold increase in mother-to-child transmission of HIV.