COVID-19 in Persons Living with HIV — What Do We Know Today?

Although the CDC lists poorly controlled HIV as a condition that may place individuals at risk for severe illness from COVID-19, until now the available data have been limited and come from single-institution studies.

A review of eight published studies (see image; three from Europe, one from the UK, and four from the U.S.) suggests that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 disease for persons with HIV is not due to immunosuppression but mostly due to underlying socioeconomic conditions as well as comorbidities. In studies where the size of the HIV cohort is known, the percent coinfected with SARS-CoV-2 appears to be similar to the general population; most of these patients seem to have CD4 counts >350 cells/uL and suppressed…