COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs are not Barriers to HIV Status Neutral Care Among Black Cisgender Sexual Minority Men and Black Transgender Women at the Initial Peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Chicago, USA

We examined associations between COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and HIV status neutral care engagement among Black cisgender sexual minority men (BCSMM) and Black transgender women (BTW). Throughout April–July 2020, a total of 226 (222 in the current analysis: 196 BCSMM, 20 BTW, and 6 other) participants in Chicago’s Neighborhoods and Networks (N2) cohort study completed virtual assessments. Participants reported their HIV status, changes in the frequency of PrEP/ART use, and COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs. Three-quarters of the sample believed at least one conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was either government-created or lab-created accidentally or purposefully. Believing one or more COVID-19 conspiracy theories was significantly associated with better PrEP or ART engagement (using PrEP more frequently or continuously using PrEP/Missing ART less or continuously using ART) (aPR = 0.75 [95% CI 0.56–0.99], p