COVID-19 Resources Page

This page is no longer maintained. Please click here for information about COVID-19 and HIV.

Background

During the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) pandemic, New England AIDS Education and Training Center (NEAETC) remains committed to providing current information and guidance about the pandemic and its implications for people with and at risk for HIV. This page presents a detailed, annotated list of selected COVID-19 resources, with particular emphasis on materials that may be useful to providers of health care and essential services to people with HIV.

This information has been organized into five main categories:

Fact Sheets, Web Pages, and Infographics
Guidelines and Recommendations
Selected Federal Resources
Health Disparities
Selected Resources from AETCs

Please note: The selected materials presented here are just a small subset of all the resources available on COVID-19. Since we plan to update this page frequently as new COVID-19 materials become available, you may wish to bookmark it for future reference.

If you need specific COVID-19 resources that you cannot easily find below, please let us know. NEAETC staff are available to provide technical assistance and virtual training. Contact us at: https://www.neaetc.org/consultations/add/ta

Fact Sheets, Web Pages, and Infographics

Coronavirus (COVID-19) and People with HIV (HIV.gov) – This web page provides information about how COVID-19 affects people with HIV, COVID-19 vaccination, and many U.S. federal agency resources about COVID-19 and HIV.

What to Know About HIV and COVID-19 (CDC) – This fact sheet in frequently-asked questions (FAQ) format provides information on the health risks of COVID-19 for people with HIV, COVID-19 vaccination, how people with HIV can protect themselves from COVID-19, HIV treatment and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) during the COVID-19 pandemic, travel concerns, and COVID-19 stigma and misinformation. It is also available in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean.

COVID-19 Real-Time Learning Network: HIV (CDC and Infectious Diseases Society of America [IDSA]) – This web page provides an overview of HIV and COVID-19, including information on COVID-19 health outcomes in people with HIV, antiretroviral therapy, guidelines for care and treatment, key research literature, and links to additional resources.

What People Living with HIV Need to Know About HIV and COVID-19 (UNAIDS) – This web page provides guidance about ways to reduce risk of exposure to the virus responsible for COVID-19; the health risks of COVID-19 for people with HIV; UNAIDS collaborations with governments and community partners to address the HIV and COVID-19 pandemics; and recommended actions to help ensure that people with HIV continue to have access to condoms, opioid substitution therapy, sterile needles and syringes, harm reduction, PrEP, and HIV testing. An infographic of the same name and a related brochure present this information in a condensed form.

What You Can do if You Are at Higher Risk of Severe Illness from COVID-19 (CDC) – This infographic provides information on groups of people with a higher risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19 and steps people can take to protect themselves.

COVID-19 and People with Certain Medical Conditions (CDC) – This page provides links to information for people with underlying medical conditions that could increase the risk of severe illness from COVID-19, including people with HIV with a low CD4 cell count or not on treatment. It is also available in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean.

What to Know About Liver Disease and COVID-19 (CDC) – This page examines the impact of COVID-19 on people with liver disease, including those with chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C infections, which are common among people with HIV. It is also available in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean.

COVID-19 and People with Substance Use Disorder (CDC) – This page provides COVID-19 information for people who use drugs or have substance use disorder, as well as the medical professionals who work with them. It is also available in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean.

Vaccine Considerations for People with Underlying Medical Conditions (CDC) – This web page summarizes current knowledge regarding COVID-19 vaccination in people with underlying medical conditions, including HIV infection.

COVID-19 Vaccines and People with HIV: Frequently Asked Questions (IDSA and HIV Medicine Association [HIVMA]) – This document is designed to answer questions HIV clinicians have about FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines and to help clinicians respond to their patients’ questions. It includes information about vaccine safety, efficacy, priority groups, side effects, HIV medications, COVID-19 and HIV risk, vaccine access, and other related topics.

HIV and COVID-19 Clinical Trials (ClinicalTrials.gov) – Clicking on this hyperlink generates a list of ongoing, planned, and completed clinical trials related to HIV and COVID-19.

Guidelines and Recommendations

Interim Guidance for COVID-19 and Persons with HIV (Clinicalinfo.HIV.gov) – This guidance document reviews special considerations concerning COVID-19 for persons with HIV and their health care providers in the United States. It includes guidance applicable to all people with HIV, as well as recommendations concerning antiretroviral therapy, clinic or laboratory monitoring visits related to HIV care, and substance use treatment. It also provides information about self-isolation, quarantine, and care for people with HIV who have been exposed to COVID-19, have symptoms that may be due to COVID-19, or have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines (National Institutes of Health) – These treatment guidelines were developed to advise clinicians on how to care for patients with COVID-19. There is guidance on outpatient management, critical care, therapeutic management, antiviral therapy, anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody products, cell-based therapy, immunomodulators, antithrombotic therapy, supplements, and special populations, including people with HIV.

COVID-19: Considerations for People Living with HIV (IDSA and HIVMA) – This document is intended as a resource for clinicians and public health officials. It includes sections on COVID-19 vaccines, patients with HIV hospitalized with COVID-19, diagnostic testing, clinical trials, and issues for ambulatory HIV care management.

Dear Colleague Letter: HIV Self Testing Guidance (CDC) – This letter provides guidance to health departments, community-based organizations, and other providers of clinical HIV testing services on how to expand their support for HIV self-testing services, especially when face-to-face testing services have been disrupted.

Dear Colleague Letter: PrEP During COVID-19 (CDC) – This letter provides guidance on providing PrEP when facility-based services and in-person patient-clinician contact is limited in the context of COVID-19.

Ending Home Isolation [for Persons with COVID-19 Not in Healthcare Settings] (CDC) – This guidance is for healthcare providers and public health officials who manage immunocompromised persons with COVID-19 under home isolation. This includes people with HIV whose CD4 count is less than 200.

Interim Guidance for Syringe Services Programs (CDC) – This web page provides guidance on education, prevention, and screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection (the virus that causes COVID-19 illness) in syringe services program settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear Colleague Letter: Guidance on STD Care and Prevention When Clinical Services Are Disrupted (CDC) – This letter gives guidance on providing effective care and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases during times when clinical services are disrupted and facility-based services and in-person patient-clinician contact is limited.

Selected Federal Resources

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Frequently Asked Questions (Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program – RWHAP) – This frequently updated resource page was developed to support the work of RWHAP recipients, subrecipients, and stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Questions and answers are organized into the following topic areas:

CARES Act funding
reporting requirements
providing HIV care and client services during emergencies
AIDS Drug Assistance Programs
utilizing telehealth
resources and oversight
funding opportunities and upcoming events
travel guidance
grants management
COVID-19 vaccination

Using HOPWA Program Funds for Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response (HUD Exchange) – This resource describes how Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) grantees and project sponsors may use HOPWA funds to prepare for and respond to infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

PEPFAR’s HIV Response in the Context of COVID-19 (U.S. Department of State) – This web page outlines the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief’s (PEPFAR’s) four priority goals during the COVID-19 pandemic: ensure continuity of care for people living with HIV; leverage PEPFAR-supported health systems and infrastructure; reduce exposure of staff and HIV and HIV clients to health care settings that may be overburdened and/or sources for potential exposure to COVID-19; and provide flexibility for PEPFAR programs in how to optimally service clients with HIV in areas affected by COVID-19. A related technical guidance document provides extensive guidance on PEPFAR’s ongoing work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health Disparities

COVID-19 and Health Disparities (HIVMA and IDSA) – This is a series of issue briefs focusing on COVID-19 and health disparities generally, as well as population groups and settings disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Many of these groups and settings are also heavily impacted by HIV.

Selected Resources from AETCs

What Will PrEP Implementation Look Like Post-COVID? (Mountain West AETC, April 2021) – These training slides provide a review of recommended laboratory testing for patients on PrEP, barriers to PrEP engagement during the pandemic, advantages/disadvantages of PrEP telemedicine, and characteristics of HIV tests and home testing options.

HIV & SARS-CoV-2 Webinar Series (AETC National Coordinating Resource Center, November 2020 – March 2021) – This 7-session webinar series was designed to enhance the readiness of healthcare providers caring for people with or at risk for HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic. “In collaboration with members of the AETC HIV/COVID-19 Stakeholders Group, the topics of this series were identified as those in most need of being addressed nationally,” according to AETC. The topics are listed below along with links to the session recordings and other program materials:

Adapting HIV Service for Youth During COVID-19 and Beyond (Pacific AETC, February 2021) – This webinar recording and resources document explore the landscape for youth access to HIV services, including sexual health education, prevention, and care?; discuss the barriers and facilitators for youth transitioning from adolescent to adult HIV care and services; and Identify strategies for clinical engagement of youth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

HIV and Oral Health: Treating Patients with HIV In the Era of COVID-19 (Southeast AETC, February 2021) – This updated dental brochure provides guidance for oral health providers caring for people with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic.

HIV & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder during COVID-19 (Northeast/Caribbean AETC, September 2020) – These training slides focus on the recognition of the COVID-19 pandemic as a disaster and as a traumatic experience. They also identify the logistical and emotional challenges associated with providing care during a pandemic.

HIV and COVID-19: Practical Considerations for Care (Northeast/Caribbean AETC, August 2020) – These training slides review HIV guidelines as they relate to people with COVID-19. They examine the common characteristics of people co-infected with COVID-19 and HIV, the role of drug therapy in improving outcomes in COVID-19, and where to find additional resources and information.

The contents listed on this page are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, the New England AIDS Education and Training Center.