New data show pandemic’s effect on HIV testing, PrEP prescriptions
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HIV testing fell by almost one-third in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and prescriptions for PrEP also were negatively affected, according to data published in MMWR.
The CDC published the data to coincide with World AIDS Day.
Experts warned during the first year of the pandemic that disruptions in HIV services caused by COVID-19 had knocked HIV goals further off track, and studies demonstrated reduced testing rates for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis.
In the new study, researchers from the CDC and HIV/AIDS Bureau used data from four sources — LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics, IQVIA and the National HIV Surveillance System — to estimate the use of HIV services in the United States by quarter from 2019 through 2021.
The data showed that HIV testing declined by around 32% between the first and second quarter in 2020, from approximately 2.47 million tests to 1.68 million tests, but began to rebound in the third quarter, when around 2.3 million people were tested.
Following a similar pattern, the number of people prescribed PrEP decreased by 6% from around 190,000 to 179,000 between the first two quarters, then rebounded to around 184,000 prescriptions in the third quarter.
HIV diagnoses also decreased by 6% from the first to second quarter, which “might be attributable to decreases in HIV testing as well as decreases in transmission during the pandemic,” the researchers wrote.
They characterized HIV care in the U.S. during the pandemic as “resilient,” noting the rebounds in testing and PrEP prescriptions after early disruptions. Both returned to pre-pandemic levels by early 2021.
The CDC noted in a press release that there was a broad effort by clinicians and health care systems to launch or expand programs to maintain access to HIV care, including telehealth, self-testing and home-delivery of HIV treatment. Efforts by the Health Resources and Services Administration and Ryan White HIV/AIDS program prevented treatment interruptions, the CDC said.
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