COVID-19 Pandemic, Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Care, and HIV/STI Testing Among Patients Receiving Care in Three HIV Epidemic Priority States

The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to disrupt HIV prevention services. We conducted an electronic health record analysis of PrEP, HIV, and STI visits at eight sexual health clinics in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma during the onset of the pandemic (March 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020) and compared the data with pre-pandemic (March 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019) volumes. Our data revealed a significant increase in the proportion of male PrEP visits during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period, with the majority provided via telehealth/telePrEP. Overall, HIV and STI testing significantly decreased during the pandemic period.