TAMPA, Fla. — When it opened in 1992, Metro Inclusive Health offered just one service for people living with HIV and AIDS: case management. A lot's changed since then.

"Today, the organization offers more than 100 services for wellness and health in the community," Chief Marketing and Experience Officer Brian Bailey said.

Those services include HIV treatment, care, and prevention, but COVID-19 dealt a blow when it comes to the amount of people coming in to access those services.

"The drop-off at the beginning of the pandemic was pretty significant," Bailey said.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, or UNAIDS, released its World AIDS Day report last week, Prevailing Against Pandemics by Putting People at the Centre. It notes the global disruption in services caused by the pandemic led to fewer HIV diagnoses. This is an area where Bailey said Metro has also seen an impact.

"One of the biggest impacts to HIV services during the pandemic is access to testing. Obviously, with the pandemic, folks are afraid to come in and get testing. While it is important to remember that we are in the midst of the pandemic, it's also important to remember that HIV is very much an epidemic in the country still, and in fact has been rising in many places across the country, including here in Tampa Bay," Bailey said. "HIV testing really is ground zero for when you either get someone in treatment that is HIV positive or, if they are sexually active, you can get them on preventative measures.

According to the UNAIDS report, the number of people being treated for HIV during the first six months of this year increased 2.4$. That's down from a 4.8% increase during the first half of 2019. Those figures are on top of several missed milestones toward the group's goal of ending AIDS by 2030. Missed targets for 2020 include eliminating new HIV infections among children, ensuring access to combination prevention options to 90% of people, and eliminating gender inequalities and ending violence and discrimination against people living with HIV. The report sets new targets for 2025 to help communities get back on track, including focusing on a high coverage of HIV services.

Metro Inclusive Health is in the middle of renovating and building an addition to the old German-American Club on Nebraska Ave. that will double its capacity and expand its reach into surrounding neighborhoods, Bailey said. It's located in the 33605 ZIP code area. According to Metro, that area's population is 62% Black/African-American and 22% Hispanic, meaning the new location will make services more readily available to those communities.

In the meantime, Bailey said Metro has been trying to get the word out that it's not just the amount of services provided that's changed through the years.

"We've just really been trying to communicate with patients that we're exceeding CDC guidelines, providing safe and effective options for getting tested, including at-home tests," he said. 

Bailey said it's important for people to know HIV is both preventable, including through newer methods like the medication PrEP, and treatable. 

"In fact today, with treatments and medications, we help individuals that are HIV positive get to 'undetectable', which essentially means the amount of virus in their blood is so low that it can't be detected in a test and the chances for them to pass it along to a partner are greatly diminished, as well," Bailey said.

He also said tests no longer come with long waits. Patients can now learn their status in minutes.