New Pathogen, Same Disparities: Why COVID‐19 and HIV Remain Prevalent in U.S. Communities of Color and Implications for Ending the HIV Epidemic

Millett, Gregorio A.

INTRODUCTION: The U.S. Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Initiative was launched nationally in February 2019. With a target of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030, EHE initially scales up effective HIV prevention and care in 57 localities that comprise the greatest proportion of annual HIV diagnoses in the United States (US). However, the EHE effort has been eclipsed by another infectious disease eleven months into the Initiative’s implementation. SARS‐COV‐2, a novel coronavirus, has infected more than eight million Americans and at least 223,000 (as of October 23, 2020) have succumbed to the disease. This commentary explores the social conditions that place communities of color at greater risk for COVID‐19 and HIV, and assesses challenges to EHE in a post COVID‐19 universe. DISCUSSION: One of the many common threads between HIV and COVID‐19 is the disproportionate impact of each disease among communities of color. A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences surmised that as much as 70% of health outcomes are due to health access, socioeconomic factors and environmental conditions. Social determinants of health associated with greater HIV burden in Black and Brown communities have re‐emerged in epidemiological studies of disproportionate COVID‐19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in communities of color. Using data from the scientific literature, this commentary makes direct comparisons between HIV and COVID‐19 racial disparities across the social determinants of health. Further, I examine three sets of challenges facing EHE: 1. Challenges that hamper both the EHE and COVID‐19 response (i.e. insufficiently addressing the social determinants of health; amplification of disparities as new health technologies are introduced) 2. Challenges posed by COVID‐19 (i.e. diverting HIV resources to address COVID‐19 and tapering of EHE funding generally); and 3. Challenges unrelated to COVID‐19 (i.e. emergence of new and related health disparities; repeal of the Affordable Care Act and long‐term viability of EHE). CONCLUSION: Racism and discrimination place communities of color at greater risk for COVID‐19 as well as HIV. Achieving and sustaining an end to the U.S. HIV epidemic will require structural change to eliminate conditions that give rise to and maintain disparities.