James M. Tesoriero, PhD¹; Wendy Patterson, MPH¹; Demetre Daskalakis, MD²; Joyce Chicoine¹; Johanne Morne, MS¹; Sarah Braunstein, PhD³; Deepa T. Rajulu, MS¹; Eli Rosenberg, PhD⁴ (View author affiliations)

During March 1, 2020–October 26, 2021, approximately 2,500,000 COVID-19 cases and 58,000 COVID-19–associated deaths occurred in the state of New York.* New York has the highest U.S. per capita rate of persons living with diagnosed HIV infection (PLWDH),^† and population-level analyses adjusting for age, sex, and region have shown that PLWDH are more likely to be hospitalized for and to experience an in-hospital death from COVID-19 than are those not known to be PLWDH (1). CDC considers PLWDH who have a low CD4 cell count or who are not receiving HIV treatment to be at elevated risk for severe COVID-19–associated outcomes (2).

COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to be effective against symptomatic infection and hospitalization in New York, including during the period when the B.1.617.2 (Delta) and B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, predominated (3,4). PLWDH were an early priority group for vaccine eligibility, in part because of elevated COVID-19 risks. However, little is known about vaccination coverage among PLWDH.

Data from the New York State HIV surveillance registry were matched with the New York City Citywide Immunization Registry and New York State Immunization Information System. A deterministic matching algorithm^§ was used to ascertain, as of October 24, 2021, COVID-19 vaccination status for PLWDH aged ≥18 years who were alive on December 31, 2020. Because death data were available only through December 2020, deaths in PLWDH reported in previous years in New York State, including 2020, were used to estimate that this analysis likely includes 500–1,000 PLWDH who died during the early part of 2021, precluding the opportunity for these decedents to begin or complete vaccination. (continue)

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