Know how you can go into a drugstore and get your blood pressure read? Soon you may be able to walk into a drugstore and get a free AIDS test.
Today is National HIV Testing Day. The National Association of People with AIDS started in day in 1995 as a way to draw attention to the importance of HIV testing. I know that it is human nature to not want to get tested – even if you are in a high risk group – because what you don’t know can’t hurt you. But, what you don’t know can not only hurt you, it can kill you. Knowing that you are HIV positive has to be devastating, but it is the first step to controlling the disease that isn’t just going to go away.
Currently, about 1.2 million Americans are HIV positive. However, the problem really lies in the fact that another estimated 240,000 has it, but don’t know they are infected due to lack of testing.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that every American between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested. If you are in a high risk group (gay and bisexual men, drugs users, sexually active people with many partners), the CDC recommends you get tested at least once a year, if not more frequently.
An HIV test is easy and harmless. No needles, just a swab inside the mouth and 20 minutes for preliminary results.
And testing is about to get a whole lot easier. The CDC has initiated a $1.2 million program to offer free rapid HIV testing in drugstores pharmacies. The rapid testing has a 99 percent success rate and if the patient tests positive, pharmacy employees will suggest they visit a local health department or healthcare provider to confirm the results and begin treatment.
Right now, seven clinics are offering the service for people living in Washington, D.C., Oakland, California, and Billings, Montana. Seventeen more locations will offer testing soon.