Immune Response of People Living with HIV to COVID-19

Dear Colleagues,

More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, significant success has been recorded in research, mainly in relation to prevention of the disease. However, many questions remain regarding our understanding of the immune response following natural infection and vaccination. For people living with HIV (PLWH) who experience SARS-CoV-2, limited evidence suggests a lower magnitude of humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and a shorter-duration antibody response compared to HIV-naïve individuals. Moreover, further study is needed to elucidate the immune response following vaccination among the PLWH population, since sparse data exist on the immunogenicity of non-replicating adenovirus vector, messenger RNA, or protein-based COVID-19 vaccines in PLWH. Suboptimal responses to immunization against other infections such as yellow fever, hepatitis B, influenza, polio, diphtheria, and tetanus among PLWH were also reported.

The focus of this Special Issue is on recent advances in the understanding of the host immune responses following natural infection and vaccination, as well as the immunologic processes resulting in post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection among PLWH. Adding new information on this population is expected to improve our knowledge of the immune response towards SARS-CoV-2 among PLWH and aid in tailored prevention and treatment modalities against COVID-19.

Dr. Lemonia Skoura
Dr. Helena C. Maltezou
Dr. Giota Lourida
Guest Editors

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