amfAR Announces First Grants for COVID-19 Research

We are pleased to announce our first two research grants awarded through the amfAR Fund to Fight COVID-19. One grant will support a study of the acute kidney injury that can be a deadly consequence of advanced COVID-19 disease. The other one will support a study of antibody responses to COVID-19. You can read about the grants here.

Expanding our efforts to include research on the deadly new coronavirus, in April we established the amfAR Fund to Fight COVID-19. The fact is, amfAR is uniquely positioned to participate in the all-out effort to develop effective treatments and a vaccine for the coronavirus. However, we remain fully committed to HIV research and to finding a cure for the 38 million people worldwide living with HIV. All money donated for HIV research will stay in HIV research, whereas all donations to this special fund will be earmarked for research on COVID-19. In these challenging times, we are especially grateful for your generous support. 

Frequently Asked Questions.

COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS

WHAT ARE THE COVID RISKS FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV?

When COVID-19 first emerged, there were good reasons to imagine that people living with HIV (PWH) might be at either increased, or decreased, risk due to their HIV infection or its treatment. What was needed were facts, so amfAR’s Vice President and Director of Research Dr. Rowena Johnston set out to analyze the outcomes in every reported case during the first six months of the pandemic.

READ FULL ARTICLE

CONNECTIONS: COVID-19 AND HIV

In this new video interview series, we speak with people living with HIV about their experience of COVID-19.

Connections #1  Steven Angelides of Boston, MA, was infected with the coronavirus, along with his partner and his cat. He discusses the experience and the echoes of the early days of HIV/AIDS. Watch now on YouTube.

INTERSECTIONS: HIV AND COVID-19

In this series of short videos, Dr. Rowena Johnston, amfAR VP and Director of Research, talks to HIV researchers about their involvement in the fight against COVID-19.  We’ll be adding new interviews regularly so check this page often. 

Intersections #8: HIV and COVID-19 – DNA Vaccine  amfAR-funded HIV researcher Dr. Dan Barouch of Harvard Medical School talks to amfAR’s Dr. Rowena Johnston about his team’s efforts to rapidly develop a safe and effective vaccine against the coronavirus. Watch the full Intersections series here.

BY THE NUMBERS

RESOURCES

Assessing the Impact of Covid-19 on Black Americans
New amfAR study finds that while disproportionately black counties make up just 22% of all US counties, they account for 52% and 58% of COVID-19 cases and deaths, respectively.

Policy Responses: Parallels Between HIV and COVID-19 

amfAR’s Vice President & Director of Public Policy Greg Millett recently spoke on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s forum on parallels between government responses to HIV and COVID-19. Millett presented COVID-19 data from amfAR’s Ending the HIV Epidemic database, updated daily: ehe.amfar.org

ISSUE BRIEF: Violence Crisis Services During Lockdown

amfAR assesses GBV service availability during COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa.

• HIV.gov
• Harm Reduction Coalition: COVID-19 Resources for People Who Use Drugs and People Vulnerable to Structural Violence
• BeatTheVirus.org
• POZ: What People with HIV Need to Know About the New Coronavirus
• AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Interim Guidance for COVID-19 and Persons with HIV (NIH)

FROM THE FRONT LINES

• Malaysia: Preparing for a Storm that was Already Here.

• The Philippines: We Try Our Best to Smile

IN THE NEWS

New York State HIV and Health Providers Are Terrified of This Impending Cut From Gov. Cuomo’s Office
The Body – January 7, 2021
HIV advocates and providers share how Governor Cuomo’s cuts to 340B (Medicaid drug-discount program) threaten to undermine both Ending the Epidemic and COVID vaccine goals.

HIV and COVID-19: What Do We Know Now?
POZ - December 30, 2020
An updated look at what we’ve learned about people living with HIV’s risk of COVID-19, along with details on when vaccinations will be made available.

Are COVID-19 Vaccines Safe for People Living With HIV?
Reuters – December 22, 2020
HIV/AIDS experts and advocates including Peter Godfrey Faussett of UNAIDS  and Matthew Hodson of AIDSMAP reassure people living with HIV that they can safely get the COVID-19 vaccine.

How HIV Research Laid the Foundation for Covid Vaccines
December 24, 2020
How scientific techniques developed in the ongoing fight against AIDS has helped scientists combat COVID-19.

The First COVID-19 Vaccine Is Here. Is It Safe for People With HIV?
POZ – December 16, 2020
Medical experts encourage people living with HIV to get the COVID-19 vaccine, stating there’s no reason to think it won’t be safe.

I’m Living With HIV and Have Had the COVID Vaccine
aidsmap – December 15, 2020
A man living with HIV shared his experience participating in a COVID-19 vaccine HIV sub-study. He said how grateful he is to be one of the first to receive the vaccine especially since his father passed from the coronavirus.

COVID-19 Vaccination for People Living With HIV: What Do We Know So Far?
The Body – December 15, 2020
A more in-depth look at what the COVID-19 vaccine means for people living with HIV, examining safety, timing and what the future may hold.

Click here to read the news archive.