The report also recommends other approaches to better understand and respond to ongoing HIV infections, such as mapping and data visualization, telemedicine, and automated data systems to facilitate linkage to care. However, the authors add, gaps in data and data systems remain that prevent full understanding of some key impacts of the epidemic. But any interventions to promote HIV prevention and treatment adherence, the authors suggested, should take a multifaceted approach and address the whole individual.
Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, investigator at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, and a lead author on the series, says, “We have incredible tools to prevent and treat HIV, but people may not fully utilize them if they are facing personal or structural issues that pose more immediate hardship, like substance use and mental health disorders. You may struggle to take a daily medication if you are facing food insecurity or cannot find affordable treatment for your substance use disorder.”
Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and now also Chief Medical Advisor to President Biden, says, “To end the HIV epidemic, we must continue to develop and deploy novel HIV treatment and prevention strategies suited to the different needs and preferences of diverse populations disproportionately affected by HIV. It is also essential that HIV health services continue during the COVID-19 pandemic.”