First Case of COVID-19 N501Y Variant of Concern Infection in a Patient with Chronic HIV Infection

COVID-19 pneumonia continues to have high global prevalence, mortality, and morbidity with the emergence of new variants of concerns due to vaccination inequality. There continues to be limited data on the outcomes of HIV-infected patients with COVID-19. In this report, we present the case of a 62-year old male with chronic HIV who presented with unexplained fever and initial negative COVID-19 PCR, and no radiographic evidence of COVID-19 on chest x-ray or CT Chest. Due to the increased prevalence of COVID-19 and the emergence of variants of concern, diagnostic testing for COVID-19 should be repeated in patients who are persistently febrile despite previous negative swabs and lack of exposure. Patients with immunocompromised states, such as HIV infection, may have atypical clinical presentations, time to PCR positivity, or imaging findings of COVID-19. A thorough investigation for other causes of unexplained fever should also be conducted despite the community prevalence of COVID-19.