Vaccination with COVID-19 mRNA-1273 is not associated with HIV-RNA blips
among people with HIV on ART: a retrospective cohort study
Abstract
Objectives: Viral blips (VB) have been reported in people with
HIV (PWH) after COVID-19 vaccination. Materials and Methods: We
performed a retrospective cohort study among virally suppressed PWH
vaccinated against COVID-19 with mRNA-1273, comparing the occurrence of
VB in the 12 months after the first vaccine shot with those recorded in
the 12 months before. The association between several clinical and
immunologic variables and VB have been evaluated through logistic
regression. Results: Overall, 48 individuals were included in
our analysis. No difference was recorded between VB incidence in the 12
months before and after vaccination [11/48 (23%) vs 15/48 (31.3%),
p=0.42]. No significant association was detected between selected
variables and VB occurrence after vaccination. In a post hoc
analysis including also 8 PWH excluded for not reaching the definition
of viral suppression, we observed 15 increases of HIV RNA out of 56 PWH
(26.8%) before vaccination and 23 increases of HIV RNA out of 56 PWH
after vaccination (41.1%). This difference in incidence remained not
significant (p=0.10) but a strong association between increases of HIV
RNA occurrence before and after vaccination [p=0.02, OR 4.3 (95% CI
1-22-15.17)] was found. Conclusion: Among virally suppressed
PWH, COVID-19 vaccination with mRNA-1273 is not associated with
increased occurrence of VB.