Whether you’re living with HIV or not, there are more ways than ever to stay healthy – and it begins by knowing your status.
In the lead up to National HIV Testing Day (June 27th), Walgreens and Greater Than AIDS are teaming up with health departments and local AIDS service organizations for the 6th year in a row to provide FREE HIV testing and distribute informational materials at select Walgreens stores in 150 cities across the nation:
- JUNE 23 – Thursday – 3pm to 7pm
- JUNE 24 – Friday – 3pm to 7pm
- JUNE 25 – Saturday – 10am to 2pm
Click here (PDF) for a full list of participating locations and partners (as of 6/23/16).
Don’t see a participating store near you or can’t make these dates? Use the service locator on the top right corner of GreaterThan.org to find local HIV organizations that provide testing and other services year round. Many offer free or low-cost options.
According to the CDC, approximately one in eight people in the U.S. with HIV do not know they are infected.
I Got Tested: What’s Next?, an online resource from Greater Than AIDS designed for mobile-phone accessibility, provides information about what to do after testing, no matter the result. Walgreens is also distributing the 8-page I Got Tested, What’s Next guide in English and Spanish across its network of hundreds of HIV-specialized pharmacies and through local partners.
The guide includes information about the benefits of early treatment and PrEP – a daily pill to help people who are HIV negative stay that way. The PrEP-friendly provider directory from Greater Than AIDS is another helpful tool to find affordable services in your area.
“We’ve come so far in what we can do today to prevent HIV and support those with HIV to live healthy, full lives,” said Tina Hoff, Senior Vice President and Director of Health Communication and Media Partnerships at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “And knowing one’s status is the first step.”
With more than 170 health departments and AIDS service and other community-based organizations involved this year, the Walgreens/Greater Than AIDS partnership is the largest coordinated FREE HIV testing activation in the nation.
Rapid HIV tests administered onsite by trained counselors provide results in less than 20 minutes and in some cases as fast as one minute. Alere North America, BioLytical Laboratories and OraSure Technologies have donated test kits to support the 2016 Walgreens/Greater Than AIDS promotion.
Some Walgreens locations also work with local partners to provide year round testing. In Virginia, for example, the Department of Health, is testing with Walgreens in stores in nearly 30 cities. For a complete list of participating stores in Virginia, click here.
Help get the word out about HIV testing! Share posts and pictures to social media using #IGotTested and #NHTD!
Since 2011, nearly 30,000 HIV tests – including nearly 10,000 last year alone – have been administered cumulatively at Walgreens/Greater Than AIDS-sponsored testing events across the nation.
