The COVID-19 global pandemic and allostatic load among a cohort of Black and Latina transgender women living with HIV.

Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic was a very stressful time for everyone, but it was especially hard on Black and Latina transgender women living with HIV. Researchers looked at the stress levels of these women before and after the pandemic started. They found that their bodies showed much higher signs of long-term physical stress, known as "allostatic load," after the pandemic began. Even though a large number of the women (70%) got the COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves, many still caught the virus, and almost a quarter of them said they didn't get the help and support they needed. This study shows that this group faces unique health risks and needs better support to handle severe stress.