Abstract
Since its emergence in 2019 SARS-CoV-2 has proven to have a higher level of morbidity and mortality compared to the other prevailing coronaviruses. Although initially most African countries were spared from the devastating effect of SARS-CoV-2, at present almost every country has been affected. Although no association has been established between being HIV-1-infected and being more vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, HIV-1-infected individuals have a greater risk of developing severe COVID-19 and of COVID-19 related mortality. The rapid development of the various types of COVID-19 vaccines has gone a long way in mitigating the devastating effects of the virus and has controlled its spread. However, global vaccine deployment has been uneven particularly in Africa. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, such as Beta and Delta, which seem to show some subtle resistance to the existing vaccines, suggests COVID-19 will still be a high-risk infection for years. In this review we report on the current impact of COVID-19 on HIV-1-infected individuals from an immunological perspective and attempt to make a case for prioritising COVID-19 vaccination for those living with HIV-1 in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries like Malawi as one way of minimising the impact of COVID-19 in these countries.
Highlights
Coronaviruses have been in existence since time immemorial and six coronaviruses are known to cause disease in humans [1, 2]
Four of these human coronaviruses, 229E, HKU1, NL63 and OC43, cause infections attributed as the common cold and are endemic in different parts of the world [1]
The first case of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 was reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) by the Chinese authorities on 31st December 2019 [4, 5]
Summary
Coronaviruses have been in existence since time immemorial and six coronaviruses are known to cause disease in humans [1, 2]. The potential risk of intra-host mutation development in HIV-1-infected individuals reported in South Africa [80] may serve as an additional justification for the WHO to move this population group further up the COVID-19 vaccination priority list. If this observation is repeated in other studies involving both untreated and treated HIV-1-infected individuals in countries where HIV/AIDS prevalence is high, countries might wish to prioritise all HIV-1-infected individuals to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 in order to keep the variants development in check. Both authors contributed to this work in writing, reviewing, and editing
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
