By Lloyd Takawira
The World Health Organization has urged government to prioritize people living with HIV as they are at high risk of developing severe Covid-19 complications.
In a statement WHO said government should make sure people living with HIV are not left out in the ongoing national mass vaccination programme.
“PLHIV are 13% are more likely to be admitted to hospital with severe or critical Covid-19 after controlling for age, gender and comorbidities – the simultaneous presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient”.
WHO added, “PLHIV have a 30 percent increased risk of death independent of age, gender, severity at presentation once they contract Covid-19.
“They are more likely to die after admission to hospital with Covid-19.”
According to the Ministry of Health, Zimbabwe has an estimated 1, 4 million people living with HIV .
However, health experts have decried the information gap that has seen people living with HIV shunning the vaccination program owing to the various conspiracy theories spread mainly on social media.
