HIV testing plummeted in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials are now trying to make up lost ground.

In 2020, the number of CDC-funded HIV tests administered in health care settings fell by 43% compared to a year earlier, while testing at non-health care sites was down 50%.

The numbers were largely consistent among groups disproportionately affected by HIV. In non-health care settings — where people provide information about race, ethnicity and transmission — testing was down 49% among gay and bisexual men, 47% among transgender people, 46% among Hispanic and Latino individuals, and 44% among Black people, the CDC said.

The data was released ahead of National HIV Testing Day on Monday.

The findings follow other recent CDC data that showed a significant reduction in HIV diagnoses and fewer prescriptions for preventative drugs from 2019 to 2020.

Delayed diagnosis of HIV can lead to negative health consequences and increased transmission. The CDC recommends everyone ages 13 to 64 get tested for HIV at least once and some people at least annually.

“(J)ust as COVID-19 disrupted our lives, it changed the course of HIV prevention,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, said in a statement. “Now we are at a crossroads. Will we accept the massive reductions in HIV testing, or will we bounce back stronger?”

The CDC said the reduction in testing underscores the “urgent need to scale up testing and reduce disparities among the people who could most benefit from HIV prevention and care.”

The agency said it’s encouraging partnerships between state and local health departments, community-based organization and health care systems to increase access to HIV testing services, including self-testing. 

President Joe Biden is asking for $850 million in his proposed budget for the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative, which includes an emphasis on routine testing.