ILOILO City – People living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), or PLHIV, are encouraged to get vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), too.
The Department of Health (DOH) in Region 6 said PLHIV may contact their nearest vaccination centers or coordinate with their treatment facilities to avail themselves of the free anti-virus shots.
“We are ensuring that our PLHIV clients have access to COVID-19 vaccination services,” said Adrian Hort Ramos, HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) coordinator of DOH-6.
Today is World AIDS Day.
PLHIV have an increased risk for severe disease from COVID, and once hospitalized, have a 30 percent increased risk of death, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Considering this and experts pointing out that COVID vaccination protects people from having severe disease, PLHIV should be prioritized for vaccination, the WHO stressed.
Are COVID vaccines safe for PLHIV?
In a virtual science conversation, Dr. Meg Doherty, WHO’s director for HIV, hepatitis and STI (sexually transmitted infections), said all the vaccines under emergency use should “all be safe in people living with HIV.”
“None of them are using live attenuated vaccines approaches which have been contraindicated in the past for PLHIV. All of these vaccines that are out there now should be efficacious,” she said.
In Western Visayas, Ramos cited the various initiatives of local governments and non-government organizations (NGOs) in support to PLHIV.
This year’s World AIDS Day theme is “Ending the HIV Epidemic: Equitable Access, Everyone’s Voice.”
TRENDS AND STATISTICS
Cumulative cases of HIV-AIDS in the region reached 5,155 since its first case in 1986, data from the DOH-6 showed.
Iloilo province had the highest cumulative HIV cases at 1,135 followed by Iloilo City (1,096), Negros Occidental (964), Bacolod City (798), Capiz (413), Aklan (354), Antique (295), and Guimaras (100).
Between January and September this year, Western Visayas recorded 742 new cases – 62 percent higher than the 458 cases logged in the same period last year.
These cases were recorded in Negros Occidental (166), Iloilo province (164), Bacolod City 118, Iloilo City (107), Aklan (52), Antique (34), and Guimaras (18).
Ramos attributed the increase to people’s “inevitable risky behavior” despite pandemic-induced restrictions.
On one hand, he said the increase could also be due to DOH-6’s continued testing efforts.
According to Ramos, the pandemic has not hampered DOH’s services like screening, testing, linkage to care, enrollment, and support.
“Plus nag-deploy kita field staff para mag-conduct active case finding. At the level sang community, may personnel nga available to provide basic services,” Ramos said.
Last year, Region 6 recorded zero HIV cases in August, two each in April and May and five in June.
Ramos explained that people may be hesitant then to have themselves tested due to the threat of COVID-19.
Also, he said, there were challenges in the confirmation of results.
Services were hampered as specimens were needed to be transported to Manila, according to Ramos.
This year, Ramos said, HIV cases started to surge in September due to the availability of confirmatory laboratories in the region like those in Western Visayas Medical Center (Iloilo City) for Panay and Guimaras islands, and the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) for Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.
Sixty-four new HIV cases were logged in September alone.
“Basta enough lang ang supplies ka kits, dasig na aton diagnosis kay wala na ta gapadala sa national ka specimens for confirmatory,” Ramos explained.
He emphasized that preventive measures against HIV-AIDS are always available.
The seven preventive measure to avoid getting infected by HIV are the ABCDEPU.
This stands for A – abstinence, B – Be mutually faithful to each other, C- Correct and Consistent Condom Use, D – Do not use illegal drugs and abuse alcohol, E – Education and Early detection and Treatment, P – Prep or use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, and U – Undetectable is equal to Untransmissible./PN