Impact of COVID-19 on People Living With HIV: Data From Five Medical Monitoring Project Sites, 2020–2022

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global economic and healthcare systems. People living with HIV (PLWH) represent a marginalized and stigmatized population who may have been particularly impacted. The purpose of this analysis was to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PLWH in the United States. Setting: United States. Methods: We analyzed surveys of behavioral and clinical characteristics of PLWH residing in 5 states that participated in the Medical Monitoring Project between 2020 and 2022. We described the impact of COVID-19 illness, testing, and diagnoses; receipt of medical care; social service access; employment; and preventive measures by project site and demographic characteristics. Results: Unweighted data from 1715 PLWH were analyzed. A high proportion of PLWH had medical care disrupted by the pandemic; 31% of PLWH missed medical appointments, 26% missed routine laboratory test results, and 7% missed antiretroviral therapy doses. In total, 30% of PLWH reported losing wages and 19% reported difficulty in accessing social services. Overall, 88% reported receiving at least 1 dose of COVID-19 vaccine, but vaccine uptake was low among younger, Black, and Hispanic or Latina/o/x PLWH. Conclusions: This descriptive analysis reinforces previous findings that show that COVID-19 negatively impacted PLWH and their ability to obtain medical care. Additional efforts will be critical to ameliorating the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on the health of PLWH and supporting PLWH through future pandemics and healthcare system disruptions.