News release from the Fort Wayne-Allen County Health Department:
Free HIV testing offered on June 27
Residents urged to “Take the test, take control”(June 22, 2011) – June 27 is National HIV Testing Day and the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health and AIDS Task Force of Northeast Indiana is teaming up to offer free and confidential HIV testing.
Testing will be available from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Medical Annex, 4813 New Haven Ave. and from noon to 2 p.m. at Link’s Wonderland, 1711 E. Creighton Ave. The free testing is limited to the first 100 participants. No appointment is necessary.
Each year, on June 27, the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA), in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), AIDS.gov, and other national and local entities across the country organizes National HIV Testing Day. More than one million people are living with HIV in the U.S., and approximately one in five of those are unaware of their infection.
The CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 be tested for HIV at least once in their lifetime. Anyone who is at high risk, such as gay and bisexual men, injection drug users or people with multiple sex partners, should get tested annually (or more frequently).
“HIV testing day is an opportunity for people to learn their HIV status and to gain knowledge to take control of their health and their lives,” says HIV/STD Prevention Director Kathy Thornson. “Testing is simple. Just a quick swab of the mouth and you have the results in 20 minutes.”
For more information about HIV testing and other events, visit www.napwa.org or www.allencountyhealth.com.
To find a testing location near you, visit https://www.hivtest.org/ or text your zip code to KNOWIT (566948).
National HIV Testing Day
What: Free oral HIV testing with results in twenty minutes.
When: Monday, June 27, 2011
8AM-11AM: Medical Annex, 4813 New Haven Ave.
Noon-2PM: Link’s Wonderland, 1711 E. Creighton Ave.
Why: National Day of HIV Testing. 1 in 5 Americans do not know they are HIV infected because they have not tested
Who: Anyone who has not had an HIV test in the past twelve months, or is concerned of exposure risks since last testing should get tested.