HEALTH
Vaccine Priority Sought for People Living with HIV
Organizations press government offi cials to clarify guidelines for eligible groups
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Advocates are concerned
that people living with
HIV will not be prioritized
among the next
groups eligible for vaccinations in
New York.
“We want to be certain that
people living with HIV are appropriately
placed in the immunocompromised
category, and can
get access to this round of prioritized
populations,” said Patrick
McGovern, the chief of business
development and policy offi cer at
Amida Care, a private non-profi t
community health plan serving
many queer New Yorkers. “The
problem here really lies with the
CDC. The CDC is not using the
most recent and most compelling
studies.”
On January 12, Governor Andrew
Cuomo told reporters that
people who are immunocompromised
are among the prioritized
groups slated to receive the
COVID-19 vaccine, but weeks later,
the state had not yet outlined criteria
for the chronic conditions included
in this group. In the meantime,
people over the age of 65 and
essential workers remain eligible
for Phase 1a and 1b of the state’s
vaccine distribution plan.
As state offi cials develop criteria
with the CDC, advocates fear
that people living with HIV will not
make the cut.
Under the CDC’s listing of
chronic conditions, people living
with HIV “might” be at a higher
risk for COVID-19, and the CDC
cites only “limited data and information”
showing that having an
underlying medical condition like
HIV results in more severe illness
from COVID-19. Yet, newer research
proves otherwise: Findings
from a study in New York found
people living with HIV are more
likely to be diagnosed, hospitalized,
and die from COVID-19. Advocates
are urging the governor to
base eligibility on the most recent
data available.
In an email, advocates noted
that during the CDC’s Advisory
Organizations are asking for clarifi cation on the guidelines surrounding vaccine qualifi cation.
Council meetings, there
were no large scale studies
cited on people living with HIV
and COVID-19. According to
advocates, the CDC continues
to use data from smaller studies,
which show a limited scope
of the group’s vulnerability to
COVID-19. The CDC did not
directly not respond to these
claims.
The governor’s latest move to
include individuals who are immunocompromised
would expand
vaccine access to more than fi ve
million people in the state. While
vaccine supplies are running low
in New York State, more than 1
million dosages of the vaccine have
been administered in the state, according
to a board tracking distribution.
Housing Works, which serves
clients experiencing homelessness
and living with HIV, is also pressing
the state to clearly defi ne eligibility.
“The rationale is basically this:
Governor Cuomo’s recent expansion
of eligibility for the COVID
vaccines is in step with the state’s
and HHS’s recommendation to prioritize
people over 65 and those
who are immunocompromised,”
Housing Works CEO Charles King
said in a written statement to Gay
City News. “The problem is the
Department of Health has not yet
defi ned which chronic conditions
fi t the criteria for “immunocompromised.”
King added, “A number of
studies strongly support the inclusion
of HIV as an underlying
condition to adequately protect
our community from acquiring
COVID-19 and to scaffold efforts
to End the Epidemic in New York
State, which have been deeply
impeded by the coronavirus pandemic.”
In December, several major organizations
REUTERS/BENOIT TESSIER
such as Amida Care,
Treatment Action Group (TAG),
the Black AIDS Institute, and Gay
Men’s Health Crisis, co-signed a
letter to the CDC’s Advisory Committee
requesting that people living
with HIV be prioritized for the
next round of vaccines. After much
advocacy, Pennsylvania Governor
Tom Wolf added people living with
HIV to phase 1A of the state’s vaccination
plan.
Amida Care said New York remains
“silent” to their demands.
The organization is drafting a letter
with several other HIV/AIDS
groups to include people living
with HIV in the current round of
vaccines.
“The rollout is taking longer
than anticipated, and which prioritization
category you’re in can
be the difference between getting
the vaccine in the near future or
having to wait months,” McGovern
said.
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