While much has been written on how the HIV response laid the groundwork for the COVID-19 response, this analysis examined structural innovations used to respond to COVID-19 and assessed their potential utility for the future of the HIV response. Our analysis indicates certain COVID-19-related innovations are clearly relevant and have potential value for the HIV response moving forward. Public–private partnerships that catalysed the unprecedented, rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines and the numerous innovations in the design and conduct of clinical trials that made them more efficient and reduced burdens on trial participants have important lessons for the HIV response. Experience with COVID-19 diagnostics underscores the need to bring underused HIV point-of-care diagnostic technologies to scale and increase access to HIV viral load monitoring. COVID-19 also highlighted the importance of enhancing the timeliness and strategic use of data for HIV-related decision-making and programmatic adaptations. Other COVID-19-related innovations, such as the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator and COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access initiative, are less immediately applicable to HIV, in part due to the success of the HIV response in developing analogous mechanisms. The failure of any manufacturer of a COVID-19 vaccine to use the voluntary licensing mechanism of the Medicines Patent Pool has slowed vaccination uptake and provides an important lesson for what the HIV response ought not to do for future HIV prevention, treatment and cure breakthroughs. The global community’s failure to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments highlights the enduring importance of principles of global solidarity and shared responsibility in addressing global health challenges.