INTRODUCTION: People living with HIV (PLWH) are at higher risk of poorer COVID-19 outcomes. Vaccination is a safe and effective method of prevention against many infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Here we investigate the strategies for national COVID-19 vaccination programmes across central and eastern Europe and the inclusion of PLWH in vaccination programmes. METHODS: The Euroguidelines in Central and Eastern Europe Network Group consists of experts in the field of infectious diseases from 24 countries in the region. Between 1 November 2020 and 19 March 2021 the group proceeded an on-line survey consisting of 20 questions. RESULTS: Twenty-two countries (out of 24 invited) participated in the survey and 20/22 countries in the period between December 2020 and March 2021 had already started their COVID-19 vaccination programme. In total, seven different vaccines were used by participating countries. In 17/21 countries (81%), vaccinated persons were centralized within the national registry. In 8/21 countries (38%) PLWH were prioritized for vaccination (the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Montenegro, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia) and the Czech Republic, Greece and Serbia had put in place national guidelines for vaccination of PLWH. In 14/20 countries (70%) vaccination was only provided by designated centres. Eighteen respondents (18/21; 85.7%) reported that they planned to follow up HIV patients vaccinated against COVID-19, mainly by measuring antibody levels and checking COVID-19 incidence (11/21; 52.3%). CONCLUSIONS: This survey-based study suggests that there are significant differences in terms of prioritizing PLWH, the types of vaccines used, vaccination coverage, and the development and implementation of a vaccination programmes within the region. Regardless of heterogenicity and existing barriers within the region, systematic vaccination in PLWH should have the highest priority, especially in those with severe immunodeficiency, risk factors, and in the elderly, aiming for prompt and high vaccination coverage.

Central Research Institute of Epidemiology Moskov Russia

Clinic for Infectious Diseases Clinical Center of Sarajevo University Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina

Department for AIDS Specialized Hospital for Active Treatment of Infectious and Parasitic Disease Sofia Sofia Bulgaria

Department of Adults' Infectious Diseases Hospital for Infectious Diseases Medical University of Warsaw Warsaw Poland

Department of Infectious Diseases 1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague and Faculty Hospital Bulovka Prague Czech Republic

Department of Infectious Diseases University Medical Center Ljubljana Ljubljana Slovenia

Department of Infectology and Geographical Medicine Center for Treatment of HIV AIDS Patients Academic L Dérer's University Hospital Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Pharmacology Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology School of Medicine; University of Belgrade Belgrade Serbia

Ege University Izmir Turkey

Infectious Diseases AIDS and Clinical Immunology Center Tbilisi Georgia

Institute for Public Health of Montenegro Podgorica Montenegro

National Center for Disease Control and Prevention Yerevan Armenia

National Institute of Hematology and Infectious Diseases South Pest Central Hospital National Center of HIV Budapest Hungary

Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Medical Technologies Global Fund Grant Management Department Minsk Belarus

University General Hospital Attikon Medical School National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Athens Greece

University Hospital Center of Tirana Infectious Disease Service Tirana Albania

University Hospital for Infectious Diseases Zagreb Croatia

USMF Nicolae Testemitanu Chisinau Moldova

Victor Babes Clinical Hospital for Infectious and Tropical Diseases Bucharest Romania

Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos Vilnius Lithuania

Viral Hepatitis and AIDS Department at the Gromashevsky Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases Kyiv Ukraine

West Tallinn Central Hospital Tallinn Estonia

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