Community Corner
Today is National HIV Testing Day
Locations throughout Atlanta offer free HIV testing today.
June 27 marks National HIV Testing Day, and Atlanta area clinics, pharmacies and mobille units will host community events featuring HIV testing.
Walgreens has teamed up with Greater Than AIDS to offer in-store screening at specific locations throughout the nation. The test is free of charge, and results are available within 30 minutes. It is a simple oral swab.
"The fact is that, right here in the United States, every 9 ½ minutes someone’s mother, someone’s daughter, someone’s son, someone’s father, or friend, becomes infected with HIV,” said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS in a report HIV Prevention in the United States: At a Critical Crossroads.
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He also stated that "a false sense of security, a false sense of calm" overshadows what is an epidemic.
Despite the progress that has been made in medicating the disease, more than 1.1 million Americans are currently infected, according to estimates from the CDC. One out of five infected do not know it.
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In 2009, 2,300 new patients were diagnosed with HIV in Georgia.
"It's very important to get tested," said Tarius Bell, program coordinator over education and prevention with the National AIDS Education and Services for Minorities (NAESM). "Knowledge is power. HIV medication has come such a long way; it's no longer a death sentence. The sooner you get tested, the better your chances are of successful treatment."
The Ric Crawford Clinic, formerly AID Gwinnett will offer free rapid testing June 27-30. Testing is confidential and anonymous. The clinic is located at 3075 Breckinridge Boulevard, Suite 415, Duluth, Ga.
For more information from the Ric Crawford Clinic, call 770-962-8396.
Other locations in Atlanta offering free testing today are:
- Center for Pan Asian Community Services; 9am-5pm
3510 Shallowford Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30341 - AID Atlanta; 12-7pm
1605 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30309 - HOPE Atlanta Programs of Travelers Aid; 10am-3pm
5 Marietta St, Ste 400, Atlanta, GA 30303 - Tabernacle Baptist Church; 7pm
475 Boulevard NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
For a full list of Atlanta area locations plus contact information, click here.
