HIV Patients Should Have No Fear of COVID-19 Vaccinations

Since the COVID-19 vaccinations have been approved, there have been numerous trials that have all concluded that vaccines are safe for people with HIV. These vaccines have been tried on a number of HIV patients and have been found not to cause any alarming negative side effects.

A person suffering from HIV has a debilitated immune system. This makes the vaccine less effective to their bodies and therefore advisable for the patient to stay up on any boosters.

“Interaction between ARVs (antiretroviral drugs) and COVID-19 vaccines has also been non-reactive, therefore it does not cause any harm to the patients,” says Kire Stojkovski, MD, a doctor at the Farr Institute. “It is therefore recommended for everyone to get vaccinated. Those patients with advanced (matured) HIV infections should be given an extra jab to make sure that they are well safeguarded from COVID-19.”

According to the HIV Medicine Association and Infectious Diseases Society of America, there have been no links between HIV or other types of immunosuppression with any of the rare serious adverse events for the COVID-19 vaccines. In fact, data compiled by from 37 countries by the World Health Organization revealed that those with HIV are likely at increased risk for severe illness due to COVID-19. For that reason, it is important that people with HIV receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

The same is true for children with HIV. If they are at an age that has been approved by the CDC, they should be getting the vaccine as soon as possible.

Since vaccines have been found to be safe, getting fully vaccinated is very important to HIV patients as it helps prevent them from suffering from COVID-19 symptoms, which might be fatal or cause serious complications due to a weak immune system.

“Moreover, having a weaker immune system can prevent one from fully benefiting from the vaccine,” Stojkovski says. “Therefore, it is advisable that HIV patients should not stop taking precaution measures—such as washing hands and wearing masks.”

He adds that non-prioritization of HIV patients in areas where vaccines are administered has been a greater challenge considering the fact that these patients are the most vulnerable to COVID-19.

“It has also not been easy to keep under observation HIV patients who have already gotten their vaccination,” Stojkovski says. “HIV patients, especially those with advanced infections, should be well monitored.”

With the rise of the Omicron variant in recent months, those with HIV must not wait any longer. People are being infected at alarming rates and though it appears to be milder than other strains, that won’t be the case for the unvaccinated—especially those with HIV.

Experts agree that HIV patients are at a higher risk for poor outcomes with COVID-19 and their immune systems may be impaired resulting in less robust antibody and T-cell responses to the vaccines. Nevertheless, they should all get the full series including the booster to give themselves whatever protection they can muster.

Work on developing an HIV vaccine continues and some of the early work in developing an HIV vaccine contributed to the creation and the success of the COVID-19 vaccines, according to the HIV Medicine Association.

“We also have learned a lot from the development of the COVID-19 vaccines that should contribute to the future development of other effective vaccines, including for HIV,” it said in its most recent report.