Walgreens Offers Free, Rapid HIV Testing Through Saturday

This Saturday is National HIV Testing Day. Walgreens will offer free HIV testing from today through Saturday.

“We’re partnering with about 180 health departments and AIDS organizations over the next three days,” says Walgreens spokesman Glen Pietradoni. “They are all rapid tests so depending on what test is being used at that site it could be one minute for one prick of blood or up to 20 minutes for an oral swab.”

The tests are often free in many venues but Walgreens says they are bringing the test to the pharmacies to de-stigmatize HIV/AIDS.

“We’re bringing HIV testing to pharmacies becuase we want to normalize HIV and destigmatize it. We think a pharmacy in the community is the perfect place to learn about healthcare and to learn your status,” Pietrandoni says.

There’s no age restriction, except possibly parental permission if you are under 18, Pietradoni says.

Walgreens Offers Free, Rapid HIV Testing Through Saturday In Conjunction With National HIV Testing Day  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com