March 23, 2020
There’s much we do and don’t know about COVID-19 and the virus that causes it, SARS-CoV-2. The effort to stop this new virus also has implications for the still imperative effort to stop HIV. The global response to COVID-19, which is evolving rapidly, can and must benefit from lessons learned in the fight against HIV.
AVAC is committed to data-driven, evidence-based advocacy, and we hope these resources help us all stay up-to-date on the facts, share experiences and make sure interventions for COVID-19 and HIV reach those who need them the most.
- Listen to the recording from the March 23 global teleconference. Dr. Carl Dieffenbach, Director of the Division of AIDS (DAIDS) at the US NIH answered questions about risk for people living with HIV, the impact of COVID-19 on HIV research, the status of research into treatments and vaccines for COVID-19 and more. And Lilian Mworeko of ICW-EA and Yvette Raphael of APHA framed issues that must be incorporated into a robust advocacy agenda for sub-Saharan Africa, a region bracing for a tide of COVID-19 cases already seen in Asia, Europe and North America. They also shared a link to the APHA/ICW-EA Call to African leaders to accelerate action on COVID-19.
- Listen to the recording form the April 2 webinar (excerpts and a transcript are also available), the second installment of AVAC’s webinar series on COVID-19 and its relationship to HIV. During this webinar, Dr. Mark Feinberg, CEO of IAVI, shared experiences and lessons from Ebola and HIV vaccine development that might be applied to COVID-19 vaccine development. Dr. Feinberg was joined by Dr. Helen Rees of Wits RHI to discuss the history and role of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which supports vaccine development against emerging infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
- Use these Resources for Advocates for the latest COVID-19 information on prevention and transmission, the research pipeline, and a growing list of country-specific resources.
In the weeks and months ahead, while we all maintain physical distance, we’ll be reaching out—because now more than ever it’s vital to connect. We will be organizing additional webinars and other virtual platforms for information-sharing and action; please do stay tuned. Together, we can get out the facts, demand data, set milestones and call on global leaders to bring solutions that work to the people who need them.