Free Walk-In HIV Testing in Kent County This Week

With World Aids Day on December 1st, the Kent County Health Department will be offering free walk-in HIV testing to residents.

According to MLive, HIV testing will be available Monday 11/28 through Friday 12/2 at the health departments main clinic in Grand Rapids (700 Fuller Ave NE). Normally, you would have to schedule an appointment, but for this week, people can walk right in and get their test done. Walk-in times will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The CDC released their latest HIV annual report a couple weeks ago and found that 2015 was a progressive year. Over the last 10 years, diagnoses of HIV has declined by 19% and the number of Americans who know they are infected is at 87%, the highest its ever been.

However, 1 in 8 people who are infected, don't know they are and free walk-in testing is supposed to help with that.

Getting tested for HIV requires only a drop of your blood and results are usually back within 20 minutes.

You can find more info on the Kent County Health Department website here.