Free tests tomorrow on World AIDS Day

On World AIDS Day tomorrow, South Carolina DHEC will sponsor free tests at local health departments.  At no cost, you can be tested for HIV, STDs, and Hepatitis C.  By the end of 2018, there were more than 20 thousand South Carolinians living with diagnosed HIV infection.  A top DHEC official said, “Every county in the state has residents living with diagnosed HIV infection, but many South Carolinians remain unaware of their HIV status because they have not received an HIV test.”  Of those newly-diagnosed in South Carolina, 68% were African Americans, 25% were white, and 5% were Hispanic.  Last year, South Carolina was selected by the federal government as one of seven priority states alongside 48 counties, the District of Columbia, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, as part of a new national strategy to end the HIV epidemic in the U-S by 2030.