The CROI Foundation
The International Antiviral Society–USA (IAS–USA)

The undersigned individuals and organizations are writing to strongly object to the plan to restrict public access to CROI materials for at least six months after the conference. The CROI website currently states:

“Unique this year, only registered attendees will have access to the meeting content during and up to 6 months after the conference. Recordings of live and on-demand sessions will be available to nonregistrants approximately 1-month after the conference only through a paid subscription”

We recognize that there are significant challenges in running virtual conferences during the COVID-19 pandemic, but preventing access to research results—the bulk of which are from publicly funded research—cannot be the solution.

Historically, CROI has been a trailblazer and set the standard for providing webcast access to all presentations to those unable to attend the conference in person, typically making webcasts publicly accessible at the end of each day.

CROI community scholarships are also a longstanding, important and laudable feature of the meeting, but it is notable that applicants are required to have plans to share information with their communities, and this year they will not be able to refer people to the source material because it will be limited to conference registrants and/or behind a paywall for at least six months.

Similarly, anyone seeking to offer written coverage of the conference and cite presentations will be unable to provide working links. Affected communities will be the hardest hit due to the costs imposed on accessing materials.

We call on CROI and the CROI Foundation to seek other sources of funding to cover any fiscal shortfalls associated with the virtual format and to make all conference materials accessible to the public on March 11th, after the meeting ends (or as soon as possible thereafter).

Organizations:
ACTG GCAB
ACTIF Santé
ACT UP
Afrocab  
Aides
AIDS Action Baltimore
AIDS Foundation Chicago
AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC)
Advocacy Without Borders
APCOM
Association ENVIE France
Association ŠKUC
AVAC
Black AIDS Institute
Citizen News Service
Community Education Group
COVID Advocates Advisory Board (CAAB)
CWRU AIDS Clinical Trials Unit
CWRU/UH HIV Clinical Trials Unit Community Advisory Board (Cleveland, Ohio)
Czech AIDS Help Association
DARE Community Advisory Board
defeatHIV Community Advisory Board
Denis Nzioka News Agency and Service
Desert AIDS Project d/b/a/ DAP Health
East Midlands Sexual Health
European AIDS Treatment Group
GHRN
Global Tuberculosis Community Advisory Board (TB CAB)
Happy feeding women group
HIV+Aging Research Project-Palm Springs
HIV/AIDS Albania
HIV Dental Alliance
HIVforum.info
HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute
HIV i-Base
HIV Justice Network
HIV Scotland
House of Blahnik, Inc.
Impacto LGBT
International Treatment Prepareness Coalition in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Israel AIDS Task Force
JD Strategies
LAC Key Correspondent Team
Let's Kick ASS (AIDS Survivor Syndrome) Palm Springs
Life4me.plus to fight AIDS, Hepatitis C and Tuberculosis
Lux Vitae- center for quality of life improvement
Muslim men living with HIV and TB in Kenya
NAM Publications
National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition
New HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Advocacy Society
NMAC
Pan African Treatment Access Movement
Plushealth
PLUS LGBT people LWHIV
Positive Council Switzerland
Positive Women’s Network-USA
Prevention Access Campaign
Projekt Information e.V., Germany
Red Ribbon Istanbul
ReShape/International HIV Partnerships
Rural Health Service Providers Network
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Sophia Forum
Straight From San Diego
Stronger Together, Association for Support of People Living with HIV (North Macedonia)
Synthesis GR
The National Empowerment Network of People living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK)
The People Living with HIV Stigma Survey UK
The Well Project, Women's Research Initiative on HIV/AIDS
TPAN
Treatment Action Group
Treatment Educat10n Network
TRT-5 CHV
UK Community Advisory Board (UK-CAB)
UK-CAB Steering Group
UNAIDS - The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
UNC CURE CAB
University of Washington ACTU Community Advisory Board
Zephyr LTNP Foundation

Individuals:
Moisés Agosto-Rosario
Raymond Allmond
Muhammad Amer
Belinda Ameterra
Magdalena Ankiersztejn-Bartczak
Judith D. Auerbach
Dawn Averitt
Maureen Baehr
Michael J. Bale
Giorgio Barbareschi
David Barr
Magdalena Bartnik
Marc-Antoine Bartoli
Aurélien Beaucamp
Thomas Beaven
Javier Hourcade Bellocq
Edwin J. Bernard
Jeff Berry
Maxx Boykin
Olivia Campaignolle
Nicholas Carlisle
Mario Cascio
Manju Chatani
Jane Wahu Chege
Andrii Chernyshev
Polly Clayden
Paul Clift
Emma Cole
Ben Collins
Simon Collins
Giulio Maria Corbelli
Ben Cromarty
Chris Cziria
Cédric Daniel
JD Davids
Lynda Dee
Paul-Emmanuel Devez
Zoran Dominkovic
Dora
Michael Dorosh
Stephan Dressler
James Dunworth
Cindra Feuer
Nicholas Feustel
Robert Fieldhouse
Hugues Fischer
Morenike Folayan
Xavier Franquet
Denis Garnier
Matthew Gartner
Bryn Gay
Peter Godfrey-Faussett
Denis Godlevskiy
Pedro Goicochea
Fiona Greenhalgh
Jesper Gunst
Shannon Hader
David Haerry
Cate Hankins
Mark Harrington
Polly F. Harrison
Robert Hejzak
Angel Hernández
Ernest C. Hopkins
Simon Horvat-Marcovic
Julian Hows
Robert James
Melanie Jaudon
Richard Jefferys
Jeremiah Johnson
Jo Josh
Apostolos Kalogiannis
Arda Karapinar (Panosian)
Andy Kaytes
Damian Kelly
David "Jax" Kelly
Gloriah Kerubo
Tatyana Khan
Jan Kosmyna, MS, RN
Arjun Kumar
Agnes Kuzoraunye
Robbie Lawlor
Erica Lessem
Marianne Lhenaff
Udom Likhitwonnawut
Vicky Lomas
Michael Louella
Suraj Madoori
Marriam
Krista Martel
Sandro Mattioli
Sheena McCormack
Lyle McKinnon
Michael Meulbroek
Hélène Meunier
Laia Ruiz Mingote
Sibusiso Mngadi
Guy Molinier
Paul Monaghan
Greg Mongrand
Waiswa Moses
Beatriz Mothe
Mark L. Mpungu
Salim Kibet Mustafa
Hideta Nakamura
Dimitris Nastos
Alexandre Nieto
Dickson Mwaniki Njogu
Veronica Noseda
Denis Nzioka
Morénike Giwa Onaiwu
Panagiotis Orfanos
Joseph Osmundson, PhD
Murray Penner
Fiona Pettitt
Jim Pickett
Hélène Pollard
Vinayaka R. Prasad
Mark Josef Rapa
David Reznik
Ferran Pujol Roca
Cristina Rosati
Matthew Rose
Gennady Roshchupkin
Memory Sachikonye
Gabriella Scarlatti
Dr. Alex Schneider
Siegfried Schwarze
Andrej Senih
Nicolas Sergeant
Shobha Shukla
Kenly Sikwese
Sanja Belak Skugor
William Snow
Miran Solinc
Alex Sparrowhawk
Bruno Spire
Richard Stranz
Laurie Sylla
Gilda Tachedjian
Joan Tallada
Jeff Taylor
Bryan Teixeira
Liliya Ten
Roy Trevelion
Wim Vandevelde
Pieter Vanholder
Thomas J. Villa
Alain Volny Anne
Pauline Wacuka
Dr. Stephen Watiti
Mitchell Warren
Loreen Willenberg
Chris Williams
Brooke Willis
Dr. Michelle Zanoni


cc.
International AIDS Society
U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
CROI Community Liaison Subcommittee
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Janssen Therapeutics
Merck & Co., Inc.
ViiV Healthcare
AbbVie Inc.
Hologic, Inc.
Theratechnologies Inc.
Cepheid