Monkeypox and HIV

Background

People with HIV are over-represented in current monkeypox cases. We don't know if having HIV increases the chance you'll get monkeypox if you're exposed, but we do know that people with advanced HIV (or are immunocompromised) are at increased risk of severe monkeypox and death if they get monkeypox.

If you have HIV, you should follow the same recommendations as everyone else to protect yourself from monkeypox, including getting vaccinated. Taking your HIV medication as prescribed and keeping an undetectable viral load are the best things you can do to stay healthy and doing so also prevents you from sexually transmitting HIV to your HIV-negative partner. Learn more about how to live well with HIV.

Monkeypox vaccines and people with HIV

JYNNEOS is a two-dose vaccine, authorized for the prevention of monkeypox and is considered safe and effective for people with HIV.

You may have heard of monkeypox vaccine PEP. This can be confusing because we use the term HIV PEP in HIV prevention as well. Here's a simple explanation of what they mean:

• HIV PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) is medicine that can reduce your chances of getting HIV after a possible exposure to the virus.
• Similarly, monkeypox vaccine PEP is when you get the monkeypox vaccine to reduce your chances of getting monkeypox after a possible exposure to MPXV.

Getting monkeypox when you already have HIV

• Limited data suggest that people with HIV, particularly people with low CD4 counts (<350 cells/ml) or who are not virally suppressed, are more likely to be hospitalized and possibly die if they get monkeypox than people without HIV.
• Monkeypox treatments are safe and may be used to treat people who are more likely to get severely ill with monkeypox. If you have HIV, ask your healthcare provider about what treatment options you should consider.
• Based on what we know, monkeypox treatments have very few possible interactions with HIV medicines. If you have HIV, let your health care provider know before starting monkeypox treatment.
• HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)and HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) are still effective for preventing HIV even if you have monkeypox or are taking monkeypox treatment. If you have been prescribed HIV PrEP or HIV PEP by your health care provider, you should continue taking your medicine as prescribed.