Does HIV treatment protect me from COVID-19?

No. There is no evidence HIV treatment prevents or treats COVID-19.

Do not increase your regular dose to prevent or treat COVID-19. Do not share your HIV meds with anyone who thinks it might help with COVID-19.

Some people have harmed themselves or died because they have misunderstood or been told that certain drugs could help in illness prevention when this is not the case.

Prepster have a detailed page on this topic. We agree with them that it is strongly discouraged to start using PrEP or HIV treatments as COVID-19 prevention.

If you decide to start or continue taking PrEP on the basis of possible COVID-19 prevention, it’s strongly advised that you DO NOT take more than the recommended dosing as you normally would.

You've probably heard about a number of trials around the world in which HIV treatments are being used to see if they have benefit to people with COVID-19. These trials are still ongoing, with some having to be paused, and so there is currently no evidence that HIV treatments have any effect on COVID-19, as either treatment or prevention.

BHIVA has some useful information on this topic, with the main takeaway being that the first randomised clinical trial with lopinavir/ritonavir (commonly part of HIV antiretroviral treatment) demonstrated no benefit over standard care in 199 hospitalised adults with severe COVID-19. There is no evidence to support the use of other antiretrovirals.

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Dr. Karen Thomson

Karen is a social scientist with a background in psychology. In additional to her substantive post as a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University, Karen has been the the Head of Learning and Teaching for the School of Life Sciences; the Associate Dean, Learning Teaching and Quality, for the School of Health and Life Sciences; and is now undertaking a strategic international role for the School, Associate Dean International.
Community Advisory Network Meeting (Online)

Join us for our Community Advisory Network meeting to discuss with our valued community members the exciting ongoing work at HIV Scotland!
Hosanna Bankhead

Hosanna has obtained an MSc.in Social Development and Health from Queen Margaret University, launching her into the health sector. In 2008, Hosanna was employed by Terrence Higgins Trust as a Health Trainer for people living with HIV before becoming a Development manager for HIV Scotland. Recognising a huge gap in Africans accessing culturally sensitive organisations, Hosanna founded and led the Hwupenyu Health and Wellbeing Project until her retirement in 2019.
Chair: Dr. Nicoletta Policek

Dr Nicoletta Policek is Associate Professor in Policing and Criminology and Head of the Graduate School at the University of Cumbria, UK. Nicoletta’s specialisms are to be summarised in Human Rights legislation and Human Rights violations; migration studies; gender and sexuality studies; war, crimes against humanity and genocide; sex work; HIV/AIDS and public health; social impact of epidemics and emergencies.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) and people living with HIV in Scotland

We're regularly updating information about COVID-19 (also known as the novel Coronavirus) as we understand that people who live with weakened or compromised immune systems may be experiencing an extra level of anxiety and uncertainty at this time.
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