THE Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown imposed by the local government to curb the spread of the virus has affected the testings, therapy and other intervention for people living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/Aids), an official from the Davao City Reproductive Health and Wellness Center (RHWC) said.
RHWC head Jordana Ramiterre said the pandemic created a serious challenge to patients who wish to access the life-saving antiretroviral therapy.
Ramiterre said the impact was felt from April to May when Davao Region was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the strictest quarantine measure imposed as the coronavirus transmission was increasing.
The number of tests and those who availed themselves of their service started to increase again when the region shifted to general community quarantine (GCQ) and later to modified GCQ.
However, they have not reached the average number of 500 tests per month, which they usually hit prior to the pandemic.
Based on their data in January, 588 tests were conducted, where 31 were “reactive.” In February, 20 of the 467 tested were reactive. Only the January data had the confirmatory result, where 29 were confirmed positive from HIV/Aids.
Tests started to decline in March when the Covid-19 case was reported in the country and, eventually, in the region. Only 196 tests were conducted, where 12 were reactive.
The health official clarified that those “reactive” tests would still have to undergo confirmatory tests, which is being done at the central office in Manila.
The RHWC official said this is the reason why they do not have concrete data of newly confirmed HIV-positive cases in the city and region since the pandemic.
“Naapektuhan ang atoang confirmatory test for HIV (Our HIV confirmatory tests were gravely affected), which is conducted in Manila, because of the quarantine restrictions imposed,” Ramiterre said.
She added the San Lazaro Hospital, one of the HIV confirmatory test laboratories in the country, is currently focused on the Covid-19 response, causing delay and pending tests left unattended.
She said RHWC and the Southern Philippines Medical Center are now being prepared as a confirmatory site for HIV test results, which will be catering tests within Davao Region.
Ramiterre said their office remains open to individuals who wanted to be tested and HIV/Aids patients who wish to access treatment, provided they follow proper health protocols imposed by the Department of Health against Covid-19.
Since HIV/Aids patients are part of the immunocompromised sector, which are being discouraged by the government from going out during the pandemic, availing of treatments and services continue to pose a challenge for them.
“It has not been normal compared to before the pandemic. In terms of services, although our services are still there, there are only a few who availed because of fear of going out due to the pandemic,” Ramiterre said.
She said services are now accessible to district health centers and stand-alone laboratories and hospitals, but tests and access to treatment for HIV/Aids patients are less prioritized during this time of the pandemic.
She said lockdown restrictions imposed can be attributed to the lowering of transmission of the sexually transmitted virus but added it is still premature to assess that there was a lowering of HIV cases since most patients are tested late due to apprehensions and other factors.
She also said they did not receive a report of any HIV patients who regularly avail of their service who got contracted with the Covid-19 virus. She advised them to continuously seek treatment in their nearby centers.
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