Overlapping Impacts of HIV/COVID-19 Pandemic on HIV Vaccine Development

Abstract

The quest for a safe and effective HIV vaccine holds life-saving potential for people globally. Interestingly, the HIV/COVID-19 overlapping pandemic have impacted each other in diverse ways, some being advantageous, while others detrimental. On one hand, the HIV platforms for development of rapid test kits, neutralizing antibodies, vaccine development and trials, collaboration and mobilization etc. has proved very helpful and a promising template for the development of interventions for the COVID-19 pandemic; while on the other hand, a number of ongoing HIV vaccine safety and efficacy trials are being abridged, stopped or suspended amidst the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) crisis. The COVID-19 outbreak that begun in Wuhan, megacity of China late December, 2019, has spread to 220 countries and territories, with more than 36 million total confirmed cases and 1,057,505 total deaths globally as at 08 October, 2020 and still counting. Currently, no approved vaccines exist to prevent infection with the novel Coronavirus, however, the impact of the pandemic has been enormous with devastating effects on the global health and economy, with many countries introducing stringent response measures to de-escalate the spread of the virus. Recruiting and retaining volunteers for HIV vaccine trials this period has become very challenging due to a lot of factors including fear of potential exposure to the new coronavirus, ethical issues and safety concerns amongst others. The protection and safety of participants and clinic staff remain a priority for HIV vaccine investigators worldwide. They are at the moment making conscious efforts to execute measures necessary to prevent potential exposure and transmission of COVID-19 among study participants and clinic staff in various study sites. This review takes a look at the overlapping impacts of the HIV/COVID-19 pandemic on HIV vaccine development.