Being Covid-19, HIV+ not a death sentence

LIKE most people living with HIV, Lwazi (not real name) thought contracting Covid-19 would reduce her chances of survival due to her already compromised immune system.

After all, the dominant message about coronavirus has been that people with underlying conditions were at greater risk of succumbing to the disease than those without.

“When the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic and international media began beaming visuals of patients with breathing difficulties, one thought that constantly occupied my mind was ‘how does this virus affect people living with HIV?’,” said Lwazi, a woman who has had to deal with both HIV and Covid-19.

“The media and the Internet, particularly social media, emphasised the need for stronger immunity for one to conquer. Also, there was emphasis, without elaboration, that the virus ‘targets’ those who have ‘underlying conditions’.

“I laboured with questions like ‘how strong is my immunity?’ ‘Is HIV an underlying condition?’ but I never really got a satisfying answer,” she said.

While information on symptoms of Covid19 was made readily available, Lwazi believes there was very little on managing the virus, particularly for those living with HIV.

She has been living with HIV since 2011 and has been taking her anti-retroviral treatment (ART) religiously since August 2018.

“I have been collecting my medication from the wonderful team at Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital and when the pandemic was first reported in Zimbabwe in March 2020, Wilkins was declared an isolation centre,” said Lwazi.

“I then made a conscious decision that I would not visit crowded places, so I resorted to buying the ART tablets from the pharmacy.

“I was nervous about the likelihood of catching Covid-19 and this made me extra cautious in my day-to-day living; therefore, I made an effort to stay home and only go out when absolutely necessary.”

Covid-19 brought in changes in the way services are delivered globally. Governments have had to come up with ways of ensuring that the population has access to healthcare services while dealing with the novel coronavirus.

A recent report by UNAIDS suggests the HIV response could be set back by 10 years or more.

Disruptions to accessing treatment have resulted in some patients defaulting.

Medical experts say admission of patients for various ailments has also declined.

Luckily for Lwazi, she had other means of remaining on treatment.

When her employers put in place mechanisms for them to work from home, this seemed like an assurance of her safety.

However, on July 26 she developed what she thought was a flu. The three minors she lives with had similar symptoms.

Lwazi said they would tease each other saying they had Covid-19, but would always wonder from where, because none of them left the house unnecessarily.

“At this point, we honestly thought it was just flu. While the other three recovered, I

was down for about four days and felt a severe headache, fatigue and developed a dry cough, and this is when I made the conclusion that I indeed had Covid-19,” she narrated.

Lwazi eventually got tested at a private laboratory in Harare.

Two days later she was told that indeed she

was Covid-19 positive.

She was then advised to expect a call from the Harare City Council’s health department or Ministry of Health and Child Care, but the call never came and still has not come.

The doctor from the laboratory, Lwazi said, recommended some tablets, which she reli

giously took when she got them.

Her mind was not settled though. “When I got the results, I wondered again if the worst was still to come. I have heard people encouraging each other to do steaming (kufukira/kunatira), but growing up my religion opposed this, so I struggled to breathe

over the steam and eventually stopped,” she said.

Lwazi said she then continued taking herbs, garlic, ginger and lemon.

She has not gone back for a retest because “it is expensive”, but all the signs and symptoms have disappeared.

Said Lwazi: “I have wondered how many people living with HIV have been living in fear. I thought my story could inspire someone out there. While I cannot dismiss the fact that Covid-19 kills, I wanted to share a message of hope to people living with HIV.

“They must continue to take their ART. I believe they are necessary in strengthening the immune system. At the same time, let us remain cautious and observe all the precautionary measures as advised by WHO and the Ministry of Health and Child Care.”

She, however, expressed her disappointment in the manner health authorities failed to respond to her case.

Lwazi’s experience and that of many others poses a question on how the Covid-19 response team has been managing Covid-19 cases and conducting contact tracing.

Aids and TB director in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr Owen Mugurungi said while provision of ART services have been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Government has tried to ensure that most patients access their medication to cover a number of months.

“As long as one does the things that we always encourage, like taking their medication on time and religiously, eat healthy, exercise, there is no problem,” said Dr Mugurungi.

“From our perspective, we acknowledge that movement of people living with HIV was a problem; that is why we made sure that people get at least three months’ supply of drugs and a maximum of six months.

“Once one has Covid-19, they should continue taking their medications, whether HIV, BP, asthma or any other condition; it is not a death sentence.”

Dr Mugurungi said people should self-isolate when they test positive.

“Usually there is a rapid response team that comes to assess if where you are is good for self-isolation,” he said.

He said the main challenge in the Covid-19 response has been the issue of mental health.

Dr Mugurungi said due to the nature of the pandemic and the high number of cases being recorded, most people end up overthinking, with the assumption that their immune system may not be able to handle the disease, just like how Lwazi felt.

“The biggest challenge we have is that of mental health issues. Most people start thinking about how they will survive with both Covid-19 and HIV, and also dealing with other issues that may need attention in their day-to-day lives,” he said.

There has been stigma within communities, he added, and that has stopped most people from talking about or sharing their experiences openly.

When people hear someone has Covid-19, they stop talking to that person and society has a way of making it difficult for people to handle their status.

“That is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.”

WHO has been stressing that raising public awareness on stories of people who have recovered from Covid-19 is a good approach to curb stigma associated with the disease.