INDIANAPOLIS — Damien Center will offer free and confidential HIV testing on Saturday, June 26 for National HIV Testing Day.
Testing will be available Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Damien Center (25 N. Arsenal Ave.) and Damien Center @ CAFE (8902 E. 38th St.). An appointment is not needed.
According to the CDC, HIV screenings and prescriptions declined during the pandemic. Locally, the Damien Center tested 40% fewer unique individuals in 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019.
HIV testing is done through a quick finger-prick blood sample and results are ready within 20 minutes.
The CDC recommends everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested for HIV at least once as part of routine health care, and those at high risk get tested at least once a year. Some sexually active gay and bisexual men may benefit from testing every three to six months.
About 1.2 million people in the U.S. have HIV, and 1 in 7 people with HIV in the U.S. don’t know they have it.
In 2017, a total of 12,635 people with HIV were living with HIV/AIDS in Indiana.
