Deschutes County, Ore. – Next week, Deschutes County Health Services will offer free HIV testing in Bend and Redmond.
The free testing is being offered in recognition of National HIV Testing Day, which is June 27.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV, and one in eight people don’t know they have it. Nearly 45,000 people find out they have HIV every year.
The CDC now recommends that sexually active people between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once as part of their routine health care.
People with certain risk factors should be tested more often, including anyone who has had sex with an HIV positive person, men who have had sex with other men, individuals who have ever been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease or have ever used injection drugs or shared drug equipment, and those who have had sex with someone who has any of these risk factors.
Testing is critical, since the CDC says that more than 90% of new HIV infections in the United States could be prevented by testing and diagnosing people living with HIV and making sure they receive early, ongoing treatment.
Free testing in Deschutes County will be available:
Monday, June 27
· Family Kitchen, 231 NW Idaho Ave., Bend; 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
· Deschutes County Health Services, 1340 NW Wall St., Bend; 2 p.m.–5 p.m.
Wednesday, June 29
· Back Door Café, 680 NW Bond St., Bend; 8 a.m – 10 a.m.
Thursday, June 30
· Jericho Table, 205 NW 4th St., Redmond; 4:30 p.m.–5:45 p.m.
