COVID-19 appears to put people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) at a higher risk of catastrophic consequences and mortality. However, investigations on the hesitancy and vaccination behavior of PLWHA in China were lacking compared to the general population. From January 2022 to March 2022, we conducted a multi-center cross-sectional survey of PLWHA in China. Logistic regression models were used to examine factors associated to vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Among 1424 participants, 108 participants (7.6%) were hesitant to be vaccinated while 1258 (88.3%) had already received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Higher COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was associated with older age, a lower academic level, chronic disease, lower CD4+ T cell counts, severe anxiety and despair, and high perception of illness. Lower education level, lower CD4+ T cell counts, and significant anxiety and depression were all associated with a lower vaccination rate. When compared to vaccinated participants, those who were not hesitant but nevertheless unvaccinated had a higher presence of chronic disease and lower CD4+ T cell count. Tailored interventions (e.g. targeted education programs) based on these linked characteristics were required to alleviate concerns for PLWHA in promoting COVID-19 vaccination rates, particularly for PLWHA with lower education levels, lower CD4+ T cell counts, and severe anxiety and depression.

Background: Prospective studies examining long-term therapeutic outcomes of the BIC+FTC+TAF regimen in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection remain limited. This study assessed the actual efficacy and safety of BIC+FTC+TAF in HIV-infected individuals in southwest China. Methods: This was a single-center, prospective study enrolling treatment-naïve (n=32) and treatment-experienced (n=177) HIV-infected patients administered BIC+FTC+TAF treatment between March 2022 and August 2022. The data were collected until February 28, 2023. Virological reactions and adverse events to the treatment were recorded, and patient subjective feelings in the form of ePRO were collected. The primary endpoint was the rate of patients with HIV viral load <50 copies/mL at week 24. Results: At week 24, 87.5% and 95.5% of treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced HIV patients had a viral load <50 copies/mL, respectively. CD4 cell counts in treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced patients increased significantly by 163.5 cells/μL (P=0.002) and 55.0 cells/μL (P=0.022), respectively. By week 24, no patients had discontinued the BIC+FTC+TAF treatment due to adverse events. Based on ePRO data, treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced patients at week 24 had stable disease symptom burden, quality of life, and depression level after treatment with BIC+FTC+TAF. Conclusion: BIC+FTC+TAF reduces the viral load in treatment-naïve patients with high viral load as well as treatment-experienced patients with residual viremia. The patient's subjective experience was maintained stable after treatment with BIC+FTC+TAF. This study also revealed a very low incidence for BIC+FTC+TAF drug-related side effects.

Background To evaluate the therapeutic effect and tolerance of BIC/FTC/TAF used for 24-week in ART-naïve in China. Methods This single-center retrospective cohort study included ART-naïve who received BIC/FTC/TAF from July 2021 to April 2022. The proportion of patients with HIV RNA < 50 cp/ml at the end point of 24-week (virological inhibition rate) was the primary outcome, and the changes of CD4 cell count, CD4/CD8, weight, blood lipid, and safety were secondary outcomes. Results A total of 80 ART-naïve were enrolled. The inhibition rate of virology was 86.3% 24-week. The median CD4 cell count increased from 212 cells/µL (90.3-398.3) at baseline to 348 cells/µL (219.8–541.0) at 24-week. The median CD4/CD8 ratio increased from 0.25 (0.13–0.37) at baseline to 0.40 (0.26–0.66) at 24-week. During the follow-up of 80 ART-naïve using BIC/FTC/TAF, 16 patients had adverse events; however, no drug withdrawal was caused by adverse events. Conclusion This real-world cohort study showed that BIC/FTC/TAF could achieve good immunological and virological responses in ART-naïve. In addition, this study also shows good safety.

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To assess the prevalence and exacerbating factors of intimate partner violence in people living with HIV in China, we conducted a cross-sectional study, involving 2792 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in four provinces in China from Sep 1, 2020, to Jun 1, 2021. The category of Intimate partner violence (IPV) included physical violence, sexual violence, emotional abuse and controlling behavior. The severity of a violent act was divided into mild, moderate and severe. Among PLHIV, the prevalence of IPV was 15.4% (95% CI: 14.1-16.8%). The severity of physical violence was mainly moderate, and the severity of sexual violence, emotional abuse and controlling behavior was mainly mild. The prevalence of IPV in men was higher than that in women. Results from the multivariable logistic regression showed that age, ethnic, registered residence, education, and duration of HIV ART were factors related to IPV in PLHIV (P &lt; 0.05).