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

We are constantly gathering new information to keep you up to date on the intersection between HIV and COVID-19. As you will see from our video interviews in particular, the hard-won lessons of HIV research are informing the race to find effective treatments and a vaccine for COVID-19.

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

• 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

COVID-19 Affects HIV and Tuberculosis Care
Science – July 23, 2020
Key resources for the control of HIV and TB are now being redirected to control COVID-19 in various countries in Africa, particularly South Africa. However, this piece argues that the COVID-19 response also provides potential opportunities to enhance HIV and TB control.  

Chatbots, Motorbikes: Southeast Asia HIV Centers Adapt to Coronavirus
Reuters – July 21, 2020
Once the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed in Manila, LGBT community organization Love Yourself hired 20 former motorcycle taxi riders, gave them a crash course on HIV and sent them off to deliver life-saving medication to their 6,000 clients.  

H.I.V. Survivors Confront Painful Memories and New Risks in Pandemic
The New York Times – July 20, 2020
How survivors of the AIDS crisis found community in Palm Springs, but old fears are returning due to COVID-19. 

Anti-Prostitution Loyalty Oath undermines HIV fight
The Washington Blade – July 17, 2020
Data from amfAR’s study on COVID-19’s devastating effects on Black communities is sourced In an op-ed opposing the Anti-Prostitution Loyalty Oath.

The Tracking of Disparity: Here are 5 Places to Find Accurate Data on COVID-19’s Toll on People of Color and the Poor
Poynter – July 16, 2020
A succinct list of “places to find accurate data on COVID-19’s toll on people of color and the poor,” with amfAR listed as #4. The recognition comes just after the COVID Racial Data Tracker, CDC and John Hopkins.  

Visit the COVID-19 In The News Archive