In recognition of National HIV Testing Day (NHTD), the Genesee County Health Department (GCHD) is providing special HIV testing, food, and raffles on Monday, June 27, 2022.
Most people living with HIV can expect to live as long as people who do not have HIV, but the first step is to know your status. First observed on June 27, 1995, NHTD encourages people to be tested and if positive, link to care and treatment.
The 2022 NHTD theme is “HIV Testing is Self-care”. Self-care has been a particularly important topic during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need for individual and community actions to promote physical and mental health remains critical.
Since 1 in 7 people living with HIV are unaware they have it, undiagnosed infection spreads HIV and delays linking patients to care. GCHD encourages everyone to take care of themselves and make sure to include HIV testing as part of their self-care routine by being tested either at GCHD, another HIV testing organization, your primary care physician or with an at-home test. Getting tested gives you the knowledge you need to protect yourself and your partners. If you learn you are HIV-positive and begin treatment as prescribed, you can obtain an undetectable viral load in six months or less. An undetectable viral load means there is no detectable copies of the HIV virus in the body. Persons with an undetectable viral load can live long, healthy lives and have effectively no risk of transmitting the virus via sex to an HIV-negative partner.
The GCHD Sexual Health Clinic offers a rapid HIV test with results in twenty minutes. Each person who is HIV tested and participates in the self-care passport at the Sexual Health Clinic, located at G-3373 S. Saginaw St, Burton, MI on Monday, June 27, will have the opportunity to enter multiple raffles with great prizes from local businesses.
Free food, condoms, education, games and self-care activities will be available to everyone. Testing for other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) will also be available.
In addition to free HIV testing, GCHD offers free condoms through their “Wear One” campaign to decrease HIV and other STI rates by removing barriers to condom access, such as cost, privacy and lack of access. Since its launch in December 2017, GCHD has distributed more than 225,000 condoms to the public. GCHD thanks participating businesses and organizations throughout Genesee County who have assisted in
dispersing the Wear One packages to their patrons.
If you have questions regarding HIV testing, or to schedule an appointment, please contact the GCHD Sexual Health Clinic at (810) 237-4538.
For more information on HIV testing, prevention, treatment and stigma, visit https://www.cdc.gov/stophivtogether.
To learn more about GCHD’s Sexual Health and Family Planning services, visit
https://www.gchd.us/clinics/sexualhealth/
To learn more GCHD’s Wear One Campaign, visit https://www.gchd.us/wear-onecampaign.
