HIV infections continued to slow nationwide in 2021, CDC reports

The pace of new HIV infections in the U.S. continued to slow in 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new annual report Tuesday, suggesting trends that had already begun to dip before the COVID-19 pandemic are continuing to improve in its wake. 

Around 32,100 Americans were newly infected by HIV — the virus that causes AIDS — in 2021, the CDC estimated, dropping 12% from about 36,500 infections in 2017.

The figures come from the agency's National HIV Surveillance System, which analyzes data collected from local health departments on routine testing.