Let’s get tested! There are more options than ever to get tested for HIV. With National HIV Testing Day (June 27) just around the corner, Greater Than AIDS and Walgreens, together with OraSure Technologies, Inc., are providing donated OraQuick In-Home HIV Tests to community partners across the U.S.
FDA-approved OraQuick In-Home HIV Tests and Stay Connected. Stay Healthy. community toolkits were sent to 175 health departments and HIV/AIDS service organizations in 35 states through the Greater Than AIDS/Walgreens National HIV Community Partnership – an 11-year private-public partnership to expand free HIV testing and information in the U.S. More than half (55%) of the receiving agencies are in high priority regions identified in the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE).
By distributing the HIV self-tests to local organizations, the partnership reinforces the role local agencies play in supporting clients through the testing experience with counseling and linkage services, including to PrEP – an HIV prevention medication- and HIV treatment.
To help support HIV engagement and outreach, local agencies receive a Stay Connected. Stay Healthy. community toolkit including I Got Tested: What’s Next informational brochures, T-shirts, non-medical masks, and buttons for staff, as well as access to a digital toolkit, including customizable graphics, sample social posts, web content, and more.
Dedicated consumer resources on GreaterThanAIDS.org (in English and Spanish) serve as the hub for the program, with an interactive map of participating organizations and information about HIV self-tests and other HIV prevention and treatment content.
When COVID-19 initially limited in-person HIV services, many providers adopted HIV self-test programs to provide another option for those not able to get tested in person. While pandemic restrictions lift across the country, HIV self-testing is here to stay, offering another choice for individuals who want to get tested at home, or wherever is convenient.
This is the second year the Greater Than AIDS/Walgreens National HIV Community Partnership is donating HIV self-tests to community partners, with more than 15,300 distributed. The program builds on the previous nine years when the partnership provided more than 67,000 free HIV tests through the in-store HIV testing events at Walgreens in conjunction with NHTD. (We hope to be back in stores next year!)
For more about the Greater Than AIDS/Walgreens National HIV Community Partnership and other efforts to expand HIV testing, visit greaterthan.org/walgreens.
