Willingness to Receive COVID-19 Vaccination Among People Living With HIV and AIDS in China: A Nationwide Online Survey (preprint)

Background: People living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) could benefit from COVID-19 vaccination. There is a dearth of evidence on willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination (WTR) among PLWHA.Methods: The study is a multicenter cross-sectional online survey conducted in eight conveniently selected Chinese metropolitan cities between January and February 2021. Participants were PLWHA aged 18-65 years and living in the study cities. Eight community-based organizations (CBO) providing services to PLWHA, one in each city, facilitated the recruitment through their networks. Eligible PLWHA completed an online survey developed using Golden Data, a widely used encrypted web-based survey platform in China. Logistic regression models and path analysis were used in data analysis.Findings: Out of 10,845 PLWHA approached by the CBO, 2740 completed the survey. This analysis was performed among 2570 participants who had never received COVID-19 vaccination. Over half of the participants reported WTR (57·2%, 1470/2570). After adjusting for potential confounders, all four constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) were significantly associated with WTR, including positive attitudes (adjusted odds ratio, aOR: 1·11, 95%CI: 1·09, 1·12), negative attitudes (aOR: 0·96, 95%CI: 0·94, 0.97), perceived support from significant others (perceived subjective norm) (aOR: 1·53, 95%CI: 1·46, 1·61), and perceived higher behavioral control (aOR: 1·13, 95%CI: 1·11, 1·14). At the interpersonal level, receiving advice supportive of COVID-19 vaccination from doctors (aOR: 1·99, 95%CI: 1·65, 2·40), CBO staff (aOR: 1·89, 95%CI: 1·51, 2·36), friends and/or family members (aOR: 3·22, 95%CI: 1·93, 5·35), and PLWHA peers (aOR: 2.38, 95%CI: 1·85, 3·08) were associated with higher WTR. Overall opinion supporting COVID-19 vaccination for PLWHA on Internet or social media was also positively associated with WTR (aOR: 1·59, 95%CI: 1·31, 1·94). Path analysis indicated that interpersonal-level variables was indirectly associated with WTR through TPB-related perceptions (β=0·43, 95% CI=0·37, 0·51).Interpretation: PLWHA in China reported a relatively low WTR. Interpersonal communication and Internet/social media may be the major sources to convey information and promote COVID-19 vaccination in the population.Funding Statement: This work was supported by the Academic technology leader project of Changzhi Medical College (Grant No. XSQ201902), he Beijing Excellent Talent Plan (2018000021223ZK04) and the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers R34MH119963.Declaration of Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.Ethics Approval Statement: The Institutional Review Boards of Changzhi Medical College (RT2021003) approved this study.

Medication Non-Adherence and Condomless Anal Intercourse Increased Substantially During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among MSM PrEP Users: A Observational Longitudinal Study in Four Chinese Metropolises (preprint)

Background:  The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted HIV prevention strategies globally. However, changes in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adherence and HIV-related behaviors, and their associations with medication adherence among MSM PrEP users remains unclear since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Methods:  A longitudinal observational study of HIV-negative MSM PrEP users was conducted in four Chinese metropolises from February to March 2020, assessing the changes in PrEP adherence and HIV-related behaviours before and during the COVID-19. The primary outcome was poor PrEP adherence determined from self-reported missing at least one PrEP dose in the previous month. We used mulitivariable logistic regression to determine factors correlated with poor adherence during the COVID-19. Findings:  We enrolled 791 eligible participants (418 [52·8%] in daily PrEP, 373 [47·2%] in event-driven PrEP). Compared with the data conducted before the COVID-19, the proportion of PrEP users decreased from 97·9% to 64·3%, and the proportion of poor PrEP adherence increased from 23.6% to 50·1% during the COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR] 3·24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2·61–4·02). While the percentage of condomless anal intercourse (CAI) with regular partners (11·8% vs 25·7%) and with casual partners (4·4% vs 9·0%) both significantly increased. The proportion of those who were tested for HIV decreased from 50·1% to 25·9%. Factors correlated with poor PrEP adherence during the COVID-19 included not being tested for HIV (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=1·38 [95% CI: 1·00, 1·91]), using condoms consistently with regular partners (vs. never, aOR=2·19 [95% CI: 1·16, 4·13]) and being married or cohabitating with a woman (vs. not married, aOR=3·08 [95% CI: 1·60, 5·95]). Interpretation:  Increased poor PrEP adherence and CAI along with the decrease in HIV testing can lead to increases in HIV acquisition and of drug resistance to PrEP. Targeted interventions are needed to improve PrEP adherence and HIV prevention strategies. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-IIN-17013762). Funding Statement: The Mega-Projects of national science research for the13th Five-Year Plan (2017ZX10201101), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81872674), and the National Science and Technology Major Project (2018ZX10101001-001-003). Declaration of Interests: We declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Medical Science Research Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University ([2018]2015-139-5).

Dynamic changes in clinical and CT characteristics of COVID-19 cases with different exposure histories: a retrospective study (preprint)

Background: To assess the dynamic changes in clinical and CT characteristics of COVID-19 patients with different epidemiology histories.Methods: Fifty-three discharged COVID-19 patients were enrolled at Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, from Jan 21 to Mar 10, 2020. Spearman correlation analysis was performed between CT scores and laboratory indicators. Patients were divided into Wuhan (lived in/or traveled to Wuhan, 30 cases) and nonWuhan group (close contacts or unknown exposure, 23 cases). The CT and laboratory findings were compared between and within groups during the clinical process.Results: Fever (88.7%), cough (64.2%), fatigue (34%), and abnormal laboratory indicators, including lymphopenia, reduced albumin, albumin/globulin (A/G), and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), were mainly observed. Subpleural ground-glass opacities (86.8%) were usually detected at admission. The CT scores were highly correlated with lymphocytes, CRP, albumin, and A/G at initial and follow-ups (all p<0.05). Four days after admission, most patients (66.7% Wuhan, 47.8% nonWuhan) showed progression, and the CT scores of Wuhan significantly increased (p=0.015). Eight days after admission, the vast majority of patients (69.2% Wuhan, 100% nonWuhan, p=0.006) presented improvement, and the CT scores of nonWuhan were significantly lower than Wuhan (p=0.006). Pneumonia was completely absorbed in most patients 2-4 weeks after discharge.Conclusions: CT plays a crucial role in early diagnosis and monitoring changes in COVID-19. Lymphocytes, CRP, albumin, and A/G are expected to predict disease severity and prognosis. Viral pathogenicity in non-endemic areas may be weaker than core-infected areas. Lung lesions can disappear around 4 weeks after discharge in most patients.