CDC pilots free HIV screening in pharmacies

CDC pilots free HIV screening in pharmacies CDC pilots free HIV screening in pharmacies The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a pilot plan on the 26th...

CDC pilots free HIV screening in pharmacies The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on the 26th a pilot plan to invest $1.2 million in pharmacies and store clinics in 24 urban and rural communities to provide free human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening to the public.

Health officials hope that the test for the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) virus will one day become as routine a service at pharmacies across the country as blood pressure measurements and vaccinations.

The screening method uses an oral test stick with an accuracy of 99%, and the preliminary results can be obtained in just 20 minutes; if the test stick shows a positive reaction, the customer will be referred to a health unit or medical institution for further blood test confirmation, as well as consultation and treatment.

>CDC has currently launched trials in seven locations and will soon select 17 other locations. After the pilot program ends next summer, CDC officials will re-evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation. The CDC points out that an estimated 1.1 million people in the United States are currently infected with HIV, but about 20% of people are not even aware that they have the virus because it can take ten years or more after infection for symptoms and illness to appear. Since 2006, the CDC has repeatedly called on Americans ages 13 to 64 to receive at least one HIV screening, not just those in high-risk groups.

However, the latest statistics from the authorities show that the screening rate for adults under the age of 65 is still less than 50%. Experts point out that in the past, being diagnosed with HIV was like a death sentence, but today's treatment drugs can help patients live longer and healthier lives. At the same time, Walgreens, the largest pharmacy chain in the United States, also cooperated with the authorities this week, and health agencies sent personnel to branches in 20 cities to provide free HIV screening. However, the difference between Hua Gelin's activity and the CDC's pilot plan is that the CDC is training employees in pharmacies in various places to have the ability to perform self-tests, and it may become a permanent service project.