HIV prevention and care services remained robust during the COVID-19 pandemic, and services partially rebounded in quarter 3 (Q3) of 2020 after a decline in Q2, according to research published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Noting that the goal of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States initiative is to decrease new HIV infections by 90% by 2030, Athena P. Kourtis, MD, PhD, and colleagues examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV services and outcomes. Changes in these measures were assessed from 2019 to 2021. Nearly 2.5 million HIV tests were performed, 190,955 persons were prescribed PrEP, and 8,438 persons received an HIV diagnosis during Q1 of 2020. In Q2, there was a decrease of 32% in HIV tests performed, 6% in persons prescribed PrEP, and
26% in persons receiving an HIV diagnosis; in Q3, partial rebounds were observed. During the study, the proportion of persons linked to HIV care, the number prescribed ART, and the proportion with a suppressed viral load test among those tested remained stable.
