New York State is Providing free HIV home testing

BINGHAMTON (WBNG) -- According to hiv.gov new HIV infections have decreased by 8%, and as the world continues to fight against the disease the state of New York is providing residents with free home testing

Josh Barry executive director of The Southern Tier Aids program, told 12 News this initiative began in 2020 to help people who had reservations about visiting their location at the time to be able to get tested in the comfort of their homes.

He said at-home tests can either be delivered or picked up and he urges all residents to get tested to make sure they are safe. He added there is an application process residents have to do to find out if they are eligible.

He said the Home Test Eligibility Survey consists of 10 questions which consist of your Sexual and Drug Use History, and the test will take 5 to 7 minutes to complete.

“HIV is not over,” Barry said. “It’s still out there but we are on our way to eliminating it in New York State and we think that this is a piece of that puzzle is that everyone is absolutely getting tested as a matter of fact next time you go to your annual physical just tell your doctor you want to get tested it’s as simple as that,” said Josh Barry

He also says it’s important to educate people about the stigma surrounding HIV.

“There are people that we work with that come into the building every day who have been HIV positive since the 1980′s that are still here with us and are still living a very good quality of life and the strides we have made in treatment have been absolutely amazing,” said Barry

To find out more information about at-home testing go to this link.