As of this morning – Tuesday April 28 – the current recorded case count for COVID-19 (coronavirus) in the UK has hit 157,149 with 21,092 deaths.
ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority owned by GSK, with Pfizer and Shionogi as shareholders, has set up a £3 million fund to support research into the medical and scientific impact COVID-19 is having on people living with HIV and the challenges they face.
The Global HIV and COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund will be divided equally between two programmes: the Research Emergency Response Fund, which will get up to £1.5 million to support scientific research about the impact of COVID-19 on people living with HIV, and The Community Emergency Response Fund, which will make available up to £1.5 million to support community-based activities that address the specific challenges faced by people living with HIV during this pandemic.
It is hoped that the move will help address some of the questions the HIV community is asking, such as whether HIV puts a person at greater risk of getting COVID-19, and whether the pandemic preventing people with HIV from seeing their healthcare providers and getting the treatment and care they need.
“Through this fund, we can support research about the impact of COVID-19 on people living with HIV that is urgently needed,” said Deborah Waterhouse, chief executive at ViiV Healthcare.
“We will also be able to provide support to local community organisations who are grounded in the response to the pandemic and those who have been impacted by COVID-19 to allow them to continue the important work they are doing to support the HIV community. We know their support of the broader health system will help save lives.”
WASH YOUR HANDS:
Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water.
MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCING:
Maintain at least two metres (six feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
STAY AT HOME:
Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home).
