State health officials are using Henry and Troup counties to gauge the interest of residents in rural and emerging urban communities in receiving free home HIV test kits.
The kits, which allow users to swab their gums and get results in 20 minutes, will be available to order online for the next three months, said Tito Terry, HIV Program Coordinator for the District 4 office of the Georgia Department of Health.
Residents can also pick up the devices at health departments in both counties.
“I wanted to get Henry because it is our metro county,” Terry said of the District 4 office, which covers 12 counties, including Fayette, Butts and Carroll. “I wanted a metro county for the diverse demographics. But I also chose Troup County because I wanted to also get one of our rural counties as well.”
The effort comes as the southeast remains a hotspot for new HIV infections, especially among Black and Latino communities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Henry has exploded in growth in recent years, with Black and Latino residents making up about 52% of the county’s roughly 235,000 residents, according to U.S. Census figures from 2019.
Terry said offering the free home kits may help reach people who won’t get tested at health departments or in doctor’s offices because of stigma surrounding HIV. The coronavirus pandemic also has made outreach more difficult because of fears among some that they could contract COVID-19 during testing.
“The pandemic has made people more reluctant for face-to-face testing,” Terry said.
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