Atlanta --
Getting an HIV test at the drugstore could become as common as a flu shot or blood pressure check, if a new pilot program takes off.
The $1.2 million program will offer the free rapid HIV tests at pharmacies and in-store clinics in 24 cities and rural communities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday.
"We believe we can reach more people by making testing more accessible and reduce the stigma associated with HIV," Dr. Kevin Fenton, who oversees the agency's HIV prevention programs, said in a statement.
The tests are already available at seven places, including Oakland, Washington, D.C., and an Indian health service clinic in Montana. The CDC will soon pick 17 more locations.
The HIV test is a swab inside the mouth; it takes about 20 minutes for a preliminary result. The test maker says it's correct 99 percent of the time. If the test is positive, pharmacy employees will refer customers to a local health department or other health care providers for a lab blood test to confirm the presence of HIV, and for counseling and treatment.
The workers are expected to deliver the news face-to-face and give customers privacy, the CDC said.
An estimated 1.1 million Americans are infected with HIV, but as many as 20 percent of them don't know they carry the virus, according to the CDC. It can take a decade or more for an infection to cause symptoms and illness.
Since 2006, the CDC has recommended that all Americans ages 13 to 64 get tested at least once, not just those considered at highest risk: gay men and intravenous drug users. But fewer than half of adults younger than 65 have been tested, according to the agency's most recent statistics.
On special occasions, health organizations have sent workers to some drugstores to offer HIV testing. This week, Walgreens - the nation's largest chain of pharmacies - is teaming with health departments and AIDS-education groups to offer free tests in 20 cities.
But in that program, health professionals conduct the tests and deliver the news. The CDC program aims to train pharmacy staff to test and deliver the results themselves.
"I'm excited. It's such a new and novel thing for us," said Sarah Freedman, who manages a Walgreens in Washington, D.C., that is participating in the pilot program.
At her pharmacy, prominent signs advertise the test, which is then done in a private room. Only three or four customers have gone through with a test in the first few weeks.
"We get a lot of questions," she said. "Usually they get the information and they go and sit on it and think about it."
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