False-positive HIV screening tests during the COVID-19 pandemic, a passing trend?

Abstract

False-positive fourth-generation HIV screening tests are rare and are usually associated with various infections and autoimmune diseases. SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination were recently linked with false-positive HIV screening test results. However, little is known about false-positives in people who performed HIV screening tests after outbreaks of different SARS-CoV-2 strains and vaccination campaigns. Here, we examined the false-positive rates in samples collected by the Israeli AIDS Task Force in 2018--2022, with respect to such factors.