“What do people living with HIV need to know most about COVID-19?”
Dr. David Wohl of the UNC CFAR’s Clinical Core recently spoke with POSITIVELY AWARE Magazine about COVID-19 and HIV. Dr. Wohl is the Site Leader of the UNC HIV Prevention and Treatment Clinical Trials Unit at Chapel Hill and sees patients at UNC’s Infectious Diseases Clinic.
“Clinicians are understandably distracted, many clinics are closed, and patients are hunkered down at home. But, we still need to be able to provide HIV care whether by phone or video and make sure people have what they need until this all passes. Clinicians need to establish some clear pathway for their patients to contact them such as for a medication refill, or non-COVID-19 illness,” says Wohl. “Don’t freak out. It is hard to be separated and to not worry, to not miss the things we enjoyed but can’t do now, and not feel sad for ourselves, our communities, and our world. No one knows when this outbreak will pass, but it will. And, when we can get back to a more normal existence we will appreciate it so much more. We will rejoice in what was once the mundane and, I hope, feel closer to one another. Until then, stay home.”
