HIV builds up the risk of severe COVID-19, deaths
A new report by the World Health Organization shows that HIV infection significantly aggravates the risk of one contracting severe COVID-19 disease.
The survey says an estimated 23.1 per cent of all people living with HIV, who were hospitalized with COVID-19, died.
The report is based on clinical data from 37 countries regarding the risk of poor COVID-19 outcomes in people living with HIV and Aids who were admitted to hospitals for COVID-19.
It found that the risk of developing severe or fatal COVID-19 was 30 per cent greater in people living with HIV compared to those without.
Other health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension are usually common with people living with HIV.
Among male HIV patients, who are over the age of 65 years, diabetes and hypertension were associated with an increased risk of severe and fatal COVID-19. Diabetes and hypertension are known to put people at increased risk of severe disease and death.
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This highlights the need for people living with HIV to stay as healthy as possible, regularly access and take their medications and prevent and manage underlying conditions.
This also means that people living with HIV–independent of their immune status – should be prioritized for vaccination in most settings. An informal WHO surver shows that out of 100 countries, 40 have prioritized vaccinating the people living with HIV against COVID-19.
In Kenya, rouhgly 1.5 million people live with HIV and Aids disease.
“This report will have important policy implications, providing data to confirm that HIV is a risk for poor outcomes from COVID-19 and increasing the urgency to see all people living with HIV on treatment and with access to COVID-19 vaccinations.” said Dr Meg Doherty, Director of WHO’s Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programmes.
HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed 34.7 million lives so far.
