SPONSORED | Discovery_SA The double jeopardy of HIV/Aids and Covid-19 is putting many lives at risk in SA and across the globe.
Without antiretroviral drugs , HIV-positive people are more likely to have compromised immune systems. And, if an HIV-positive person is elderly or suffers from underlying medical conditions, they become even more vulnerable toThe risk of HIV-infected people dying from Covid-19 should they become infected is double that of the general population“To get treatment for HIV, patients first need to know that they have the virus.
In KwaZulu-Natal, there was a 48% drop in HIV testing after the first national lockdown started in March 2020, according to the UNAids report. It also notes there was “a marked drop in treatment initiation. This occurred as 28,000 HIV community healthcare workers were shifted from HIV testing to Covid-19 symptom screening”.“Global health authorities encourage HIV-infected people to get the Covid-19 vaccine, no matter what their CD4 count or viral load is.
There is no evidence to suggest potential negative interactions with [the Covid-19 vaccine] and ARVs or pre-exposure prophylaxis“While many of the first Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials did not involve people living with HIV, later clinical trials did. And, based on what we know from these trials, there is no evidence to suggest potential negative interactions with ARVs or pre-exposure prophylaxis.
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