Episode 26: HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 Vaccines

Additional resources

HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 vaccines

Q1: This Wednesday was World AIDS Day. Why do we celebrate World AIDS Day?

World AIDS Day takes place on December 1 each year. It's an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day.

Q2: How can you tell if you have HIV?

The starting point is to get tested. If you test positive, you can take antiretroviral medications to manage HIV. By taking HIV medicine daily as prescribed, you can make the amount of HIV in your blood (your viral load) very low—so low that a test can’t detect it (called an undetectable viral load). 

Getting and keeping an undetectable viral load is the best thing you can do to stay healthy. If your viral load stays undetectable, you have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex. Getting tested for HIV is the key for early awareness and treatment.

Q3: What are the common symptoms of HIV?

A few weeks after getting HIV, many people have flu-like symptoms, which may last days or weeks. These symptoms can include fever, headache, tiredness, and enlarged lymph glands in the neck and groin area. Some people may have no symptoms.

Q4: What is AIDS?

AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV, when a person's immune system is severely weakened and has difficulty fighting infections and certain cancers. At this stage, serious symptoms develop, such as:

Q5: Are people who have tested positive for HIV/AIDS at greater risk from the impacts of COVID-19?

There is still much we are learning about how COVID-19 affects people with HIV. Based on what we know at this time, people with HIV are at greater risk for becoming severely ill from COVID-19.

Various factors can contribute to this as well, such as age and other underlying medical conditions. We recommend folks with HIV take preventive actions (including getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, avoiding large gatherings, good hand hygiene, and practicing physical distancing) to protect themselves from getting COVID-19.

Q6: Are COVID-19 vaccines safe for people who are HIV/AIDS positive?

YES! These vaccines are safe and effective in people with HIV. The COVID-19 vaccines have gone through testing to meet safety requirements set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to support Emergency Use Authorization. People with HIV were included in vaccine clinical trials, though safety data for this group are not yet available.

According to the CDC, “If you have HIV and are at least 12 years old, you can get vaccinated if you have not had a severe or immediate allergic reaction to any of the vaccine ingredients.”

Read CDC’s FAQs about the safety of vaccines for people with HIV and when to get vaccinated, and see detailed COVID-19 vaccine information for people with underlying medical conditions.

7. How does COVID-19 affect people with HIV?

People who have advanced or untreated HIV may benefit from an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to make sure they have enough protection against COVID-19. 

CDC does not recommend an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for people with HIV who are virally suppressed or who do not have advanced HIV. 

Talk to your health care provider to determine if getting an additional dose is right for you.

You should also talk to your health care provider about the benefits of HIV treatment. People with HIV who take HIV medicine daily as prescribed can live long, healthy lives and protect their partners. In fact, people with HIV who get and keep an undetectable viral load (or stay virally suppressed) have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to their sexual partners.