People with HIV are at increased risk of COVID reinfection: CDC

People living with HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, are at increased risk of reinfection with COVID-19, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Looking at COVID-19 and HIV infections in Chicago, CDC researchers determined that reinfection rates were consistently higher among people who were HIV-positive than among those who were not, even when adjusting for demographic factors, residence and COVID-19 vaccination status.

CDC researchers analyzed data from March 2020 to May 2022 from 453,687 Chicago residents who reported cases of COVID-19 and found that a total of 5% of them experienced a COVID-19 infection. 19 more than 90 days after their first, including 6.7 percent – ​​or 192 out of 2,886 – of those who are HIV positive and 5.2 percent – ​​or 23,642 out of 450,701 – of those who are not HIV positive .

The study found that HIV-positive people who experienced COVID-19 reinfection were older, with a median age of 43 years, compared to 36 years for non-HIV-positive people.

People who were HIV positive were also more likely than those who were not to have received a full course of COVID-19 vaccination plus an additional dose, 31.8 percent versus 22.1 percent. Among people reinfected with COVID-19, those with HIV were also less likely to be unvaccinated than those without, 87.5 percent versus 91 percent.

HIV attacks the body’s immune system and, if left untreated, can lead to AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. While several studies have shown that immunocompromised people may be more vulnerable to COVID-19, the CDC has noted the lack of understanding regarding any link between HIV infections and COVID-19 reinfections.

The study further found that reinfection rates among HIV-positive people remained higher than among non-HIV-positive people, regardless of their white blood cell count, which determines patients’ immune function.

“This finding indicates that even people with well-controlled HIV infection may have a higher risk of reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 compared to PWOH. [person without HIV]“, wrote the researchers.

Following the findings, the CDC said it recommends that people with HIV follow the recommended COVID-19 vaccination schedule and booster doses to avoid COVID-19 reinfection.

“Assessing the association between HIV infection and SARS-CoV-2 reinfections using surveillance data can help strengthen public health recommendations, including the need for additional doses in as part of a primary series, vaccine booster doses and optimized ART. [antiretroviral therapy] in PWH [people with HIV]. Personalized counseling and prevention messages for PWH can help reduce the elevated risk we identified in this analysis and limit continued transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” the researchers wrote.