If you’re on the wildly popular gay dating app Grindr, you now have a sure bet: Click the “Free HIV Home Test” button, and a nice little package will arrive at your front door—or back door if you prefer.
Grindr joined a national effort launched this week to deliver 1 million free HIV self-tests during the next five years; the HIV tests are also available online to folks not on the app. Titled Together TakeMeHome, the program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In a Dear Colleague letter dated March 21, the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention described the national HIV testing effort:
“We are pleased to announce the launch of Together TakeMeHome (TTMH), a project with the goal of distributing up to 1 million free HIV self-tests over the next five years. People in the United States, including Puerto Rico, can order up to two free HIV self-tests every 90 days via a new online portal. Tests are available to anyone 17 years or older, regardless of health insurance or immigration status. TTMH is supported by CDC, in partnership with Emory University, Building Healthy Online Communities (BHOC), NASTAD, Signal Group, and OraSure Technologies.”
In 2022, the CDC awarded $8.3 million per year to Together TakeMeHome for its five-year project (for a total of $41.5 million). For those not on Grindr, orders placed on the program’s website, Together.TakeMeHome.org, are processed by Amazon, which delivers the OraSure tests in discreet packages. The site is available in both English and Spanish.
In 2019, out of 34,800 total new HIV diagnoses in the United States, 24,500 (70%) were among men who have sex with men, according to the CDC. So it makes sense to make HIV tests available through apps like Grindr that are popular among gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Comments
Comments