The EUSTI Georgia conference took place 29 September to 1st of October 2022 in an hybrid format. Dr.Megi Gogishvili presented an abstract based on the descriptive data collected by COBATEST network in 2019 and 2020.
A presentation was conducted on Comparison of HIV testing performed pre and during COVID-19 at Community-Based Testing Centers in Europe based on data collected by COBATEST Network during 2019 and 2020. From 2019 to 2020, forty centers from 15 European countries reported data on HIV testing in both years using the COBATEST standardized data reporting tools. In total 111,117 persons were tested for HIV by forty centers in 2019, and in 2020 the same 40 centers reported 70084 (36.9% less) persons tested. Most of the centers demonstrated substantial decrease in persons tested ranging from 30% to 60% compared to 2019. Three centers had reported more than 60% decrease in HIV testing in 2020 compared to 2019. Minor increase was found in 4 centers and one center reported substantial increase. Overall, drastic change in proportion of persons tested for HIV in 2019 compared to 2020 has been found. The difference could be attributed to availability of these services during lockdowns and also to restrictions imposed by governments on free movement across the cities/towns/countries due to COVID-19 pandemic. However, this data should be interpreted cautiously as no specific data has been collected on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in these 40 centers. Please find full presentation online.