National HIV Testing Day highlights the importance of HIV testing and the fight against HIV/AIDS. Of the over 1.1 million Americans living with HIV, more than 200,000 are unaware of their infection, and may unknowingly be transmitting the virus to others. Knowing your HIV status is a vital step toward accessing life-extending treatment for HIV, and thanks to ongoing research, that treatment is more effective than ever.
In July 2010, my Administration released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which emphasizes the goals of reducing infections, improving health outcomes, and reducing HIV-related health disparities. Two years into its implementation, the Strategy continues to focus Federal, State, and local efforts on improving the delivery of HIV/AIDS services, including expanding outreach, testing, linkage to care, and treatment.
Testing remains a special priority—and thanks to quick and accurate tests, finding out your HIV status has never been easier. The Affordable Care Act now requires many health insurance plans to provide recommended preventive health services with no out of pocket costs, giving millions of Americans better access to HIV testing. Another CDC program, the Expanding Testing Initiative, has conducted 2.8 million tests in its first three years. Together, these and other efforts will help prevent new infections and ensure that people living with HIV lead healthy lives—moving us towards our goal of an AIDS-free generation.”
President Obama, in a statement on National HIV Testing Day, June 27.
Lifer
See, even the President wants you to disclose your status!
Some Random Guy
@Lifer: Uh, try reading it again.
He refers to “knowing” one’s status. And if HIV+, getting treated for it. As opposed (for example) to avoiding knowledge of one’s status in the first place, ever, in order to avoid vindictive legal action from (for example) an ex-partner one DID disclose to, who’s still HIV-negative anyway.
Nice try, but we know what you’re up to. I don’t recall your moniker from the previous thread, so maybe you’ve changed your name because we mopped the floor with you last time? “Hello,” is that you?
Some Random Guy
“Of the over 1.1 million Americans living with HIV, more than 200,000 are unaware of their infection, and may unknowingly be transmitting the virus to others.”
That’s the key here.
Todd
@Lifer: What a pathetic charade. HIV tests are everywhere, every day of the year. People don’t know their status because they don’t want to know. They don’t want to know because people like “Lifer” want to humiliate them with pointless “disclosure” laws, relegate them to second class citizens and force them to shoulder needlessly high medical costs. People avoid the test because we regularly fail those with HIV, and make life with it seem so hopeless that the test itself seems to have no value whatsoever.
The president can babble about how HIV tests are covered by the affordable care act all he wants. Until HIV treatment and medical care is covered by it, people are right to be fearful of the thing.
Spike
@Lifer: HA HA HA, nice Fox News spin, yep that’s exactly what that statement said. Yet, again, you teabagging trolls having nothing on this President so all you do is throw nonsense and hope something sticks!
Nelson
As long as Obama and most Americans prepetuate the myth that HIV is something that only affects bisexual and gay men, and IV drug users but not heterosexuals and we have younger gay men who foolishly think that it’s fine to do it bb/raw and think “Oh well if I wind up poz which will happen I’ll just go on meds!” we’ll never have an HIV/AIDS free generation.
Lifer
II read the NY Times article about the new kit being approved & it states that “Getting an infected person onto antiretroviral drugs lowers by as much as 96% the chance that he or she will transmit to someone else the virus.”.
While 96% is indeed a nice number, 4% is not inconsequential & it’s certainly not zero. AND, the entire sentence hinges on the very important qualifier “AS MUCH AS”. So, contrary to what you believe, your viral loads are detectable in the best case scenario and very detectable in less than best case scenario, so disclosure to potential partners is a must.
FYI, not a fox supporter. I’m not necessarily a big fan of Obama either, but he’s certainly done a helluva lot more than the repubs. I’m also not afraid to listen to a republican candidate, but that party couldn’t actually be bothered to find one that wasn’t primarily a grifter.