Activists call for swift government decisions to ensure equitable vaccination for people living with HIV

In a statement, the Group of Activists in Treatments (GAT) warns of the lack of a coherent and effective vaccination policy for people living with HIV in Portugal, which jeopardises the 2030 health goals of the SDGs.

A series of recommendations addressed to the Ministry of Health and the Directorate-General for Health are the result of a symposium that brought together pharmaceutical companies, civil society, institutions representing people living with HIV, the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) so that the GAT could define actions and recommendations based on up-to-date knowledge and strategies to guarantee the removal of barriers and adequate coverage.

GAT receives reports and complaints from people living with HIV who report that access to the vaccination recommended by the European guidelines encounters a variety of challenges, including financial ones, from awareness to the full vaccination programme. The organisation considers the ageing context of people living with HIV, which is why action is now needed to advocate for accessible, effective and safe vaccination responses.

This reality led to the symposium ‘Advancing Immunisation for People living with HIV’, which identified barriers to accessing the internationally recommended vaccination, such as hesitancy to vaccinate by health professionals, high costs and a lack of accessible vaccination points. The report is already available.

At risk is meeting the third target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to guarantee access to quality healthcare by 2030, through compliance with the Global Immunisation Strategy 2030 and the Global Health Strategy for HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs 2022-2030.

Luís Mendão, GAT's Director of Health Policy, warns: ‘We need a single immunisation agenda for people living with HIV and to increase the number of free vaccines and state reimbursements.’ GAT is also calling on pharmaceutical companies to make prices affordable to guarantee the scale-up of vaccination in order to maintain the sustainability of the NHS and the PNV.

In addition to free and affordable vaccination, GAT recommends the publication of an up-to-date, single, universal vaccination schedule of recommended vaccines for people living with HIV, dosages and vaccines to be administered, with a strategy of exemption from medical prescription and access that tends to be free on the NHS. ‘It's unacceptable for a patient to have to pay more than €1,000 to protect their health,’ warns Luís Mendão.

Currently, the National Vaccination Plan recommends the hepatitis B, flu, pneumonia and Covid-19 vaccines for people living with HIV, free of charge, while the vaccine schedules for HPV, hepatitis A, herpes zoster, mpox and ABCWY meningitis, recommended by the European AIDS Clinical Society, are missing.

In addition to its public position, GAT is in the process of taking these recommendations to various decision-making bodies, such as the government represented by the Ministry of Health, health institutions and civil society, including the Parliamentary Health Commission, the Directorate-General for Health and the Order of Doctors and Nurses. ‘Action must be taken immediately or Portugal will miss its 2030 public health targets,’ warns historic activist Luís Mendão.