Select Walgreens throughout the country will offer free HIV/AIDS testing and resources, according to an article at DrugStoreNews.com.
On Tuesday, the Kaiser Family Foundation announced that it had teamed up with the drug store chain, as well as the nonprofit group Greater Than AIDS, to distribute informational resources and offer one-on-one medication counseling for people living with HIV/AIDS. Free rapid oral HIV testing will be offered from June 22 to 24, thanks to guidance from the CDC and test kits donated by OraSure Technologies. Conducting the tests will be state and local health departments as well as community-based organizations.
"Despite overwhelming evidence that early diagnosis and treatment play an important role both in the health of those who are positive and in reducing the spread of HIV, many Americans at highest risk for infection still have not been tested," said Tina Hoff director of health communication and media partnerships at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
June marks the 30th anniversary of the first diagnosed case of AIDS. The CDC reports that more than 1 million Americans are living with HIV, but 1 in 5 do not know that they are infected. One third of those diagnosed with HIV learn of it so late in the process that they develop AIDS within on year.
