Across the United States, Pride festivals provide opportunities for members of the LGBTQ community to celebrate their identities, receive free HIV testing, and other HIV prevention resources. This past summer, the COVID-19 pandemic had forced many cities in the United States to cancel their pride celebrations to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. While these state and municipal stay-at-home orders were needed to protect the public from COVID-19, the resulting loss of Pride events that provide the public with free HIV testing and PrEP advocacy may contribute to a potential increase in HIV cases.
HIV disproportionally affects members of the LGBTQ community in the United States, especially Black and Latinx members. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in six of all gay or bisexual men in the United States will contract HIV in their lifetime. When looking at the health risks by race, the CDC estimates that 1 in 2 Black men, one in four Latinx men, and one in eleven white men who identify as gay or bisexual will contract HIV in their lifetime. For transgender women, the CDC estimates that 14% of all transgender women in the United States live with HIV. When analyzing the data by race, the CDC approximates that 44% of Black transgender women, 26% of Latinx transgender women, and 7% of white transgender women live with HIV.
Free HIV testing at Pride events have been shown to be an important strategy to promote HIV prevention in LGBTQ community, especially for those who lack access to healthcare. A study conducted by the CDC surveyed participants who were getting tested for HIV at Pride events held in thirteen separate cities in the United States. Among the participants tested at the Pride events, 11.9% had never been tested for HIV and 21.7% had not been tested for HIV for more than twelve months prior to the event. When analyzing the participants who tested positive for HIV, 84.4% stated that they were unaware of their HIV infection. Overall, the study found that free HIV testing in nonclinical settings like Pride events are an extremely useful strategy to promote HIV prevention among groups who lack access to healthcare and/ or fear societal stigma.
Some public health organizations have emphasized the importance of at-home HIV testing and prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the non-profit organization Greater Than AIDS created an online platform to link people with participating local health agencies and community-based organizations in order to obtain free or reduced cost at-home HIV tests. Other efforts include the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) Ready Set PrEP program. Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a daily pill that studies have shown to reduce the risk of contracting HIV by more than 90%. The Ready Set PrEP program works to provide free PrEP medication from participating pharmacies or by mail to individuals without insurance.
COVID-19 is a pressing public health issue in the United states. The total reported COVID-19 cases in the United States have reached the millions and the total reported COVID-19 related deaths are nearing 250,000. Yet, COVID-19 is not the only public health crisis that the United States faces. In 2018, an estimated 36,400 new HIV infections occurred in the United States. Currently, 1.2 million Americans live with HIV and about 14% of those people do not know they have the virus and need testing. While HIV prevention outreach like Pride events have been limited during the COVID-19 pandemic, public health organizations are trying to work around this obstacle. By expanding access to free at-home HIV testing and distribution of PrEP, public health officials may continue to be effective at reducing the spread of HIV.