COVID-19 Vaccine Found Safe for People with HIV

As the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out is continuing in all countries, with clear beneficial impacts on hospital admissions and deaths related to COVID-19. However, individuals with primary or secondary immunodeficiencies are a population of particular concern because they have increased rates of COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality.

For people with HIV, the relative risk of disease progression, hospital admission, or death related to COVID-19 is unclear, with several observational studies reporting different results. 

This is likely partly related to the heterogeneity of outcomes for individuals with HIV, contingent on access to effective suppressive ART.

Preliminary data from a sub-study published by The Lancet on June 18, 2021, shows that the Vaxzevria COVID-19 Vaccine (AstraZeneca, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccine given as prime-boost dosing given 4–6 weeks apart was found well tolerated and produced equivalent immune responses in people living with HIV who are well controlled on ART compared with a similar adult population without HIV.

In this single-arm open-label vaccination sub-study within the protocol of the larger phase 2/3 trial COV002, adults aged 18–55 years with HIV were enrolled at two HIV clinics in London, UK. The findings suggest that no dose adjustment in the vaccine is needed for people with HIV on ART with CD4 counts of more than 350 cells per μL.

Although this study was too small to report protection from infection, the measured immunological responses are similar to those seen in larger studies of HIV-negative participants. In addition, there is increasing evidence that vaccination leads to a reduction in symptomatic cases and hospital admissions researchers.