People with HIV who become infected with the coronavirus may be at higher risk for severe illness, according to new data.
Between August and October, researchers studied 955 people with HIV and 1,062 people without it.
The rate of COVID-19 was 3.7% in people with HIV versus 7.4% in the HIV-negative group.
Among the 31 people with HIV and 70 people without it who became infected with the coronavirus, however, the likelihood of severe COVID-19 was 5.52-fold higher in the HIV group, the research team reported in The Lancet HIV.
Among those who had recovered from COVID-19, antibody levels were significantly lower in people with HIV. That raises concern that HIV infection might blunt people's immune response to the virus - and to vaccines, the authors said.
"People living with HIV should be followed up after vaccination, with antibody and T-cell activity measured when possible, to ensure they mount a sufficient immune response to prevent cases of severe COVID-19," the researchers advise.
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