GRAND CROSSING — Learning your HIV status should be easy says Markeisha Marshall, a Walgreens spokeswoman.
The national retailer has partnered with Greater Than AIDS — a leading national public information response that is focused on the HIV epidemic in the United States — to offer free HIV testing Thursday through Saturday. June 27 is National HIV Testing Day. Test results take up to 20 minutes.
"We want to make it easy for folks," Marshall said. "They can come in and there’s no appointment required, there’s no financial commitment."
Local Walgreens like the one on 75th and State streets will offer the free testing. More than 150 cities are participating across the country. Walgreens and Greater Than AIDS are partnering with more than 180 health departments and local AIDS service organizations. National organizations such as the Black AIDS Institute and NAACP are supporting the testing days by encouraging the community to get tested.
"We want to make sure we normalize health testing," Marshall said. "You go to the doctor each year and get tested for a variety of things, HIV should just be one of them."
A variety of test result methods such as the finger prick technology, oral swab and blood-based will be used. Each location is different so for a list of locations and testing options visit Greaterthan.org/walgreens.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
