To combat HIV transmission and improve access to care in Georgia, telemedicine provider MISTR has partnered with Walmart to offer free at-home HIV testing kits in seven Walmart stores, according to a MISTR news release.

 

In 2022, the South accounted for 49% of new HIV cases in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

Georgia has some of the worst HIV rates in the nation. By the end of 2022, there were 63,984 people living with HIV in Georgia, with 2,575 new diagnoses. In 2021, the Atlanta metro area had the third highest rate of new HIV diagnoses in the country, with more than 25 of every 100,000 people living with HIV.

 

“There is an undeniable HIV crisis in Georgia with very few resources available,” said MISTR CEO and founder Tristan Schukraft in the news release. “This program not only marks MISTR’s first retail partnership but also addresses the community’s need for care options and increased sexual health education. I am proud that MISTR continues to democratize access to PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis], doxyPEP [doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis] and long-term-HIV care and show up for these underserved individuals.”

 

Initial store locations include Atlanta, Ellenwood, Morrow, Decatur and Stockbridge.

 

Customers can take HIV testing kits home, receive their results from MISTR within a week and get connected to care if necessary. MISTR offers HIV care services such as testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), PrEP, doxyPEP and long-term HIV care.

 

Approximately 13% of people living with HIV in the United States don’t know they have the virus. Knowing your status is essential to protect your health—and that of your partner.

 

This program follows MISTR’s doxyPEP launch in April, which aimed to increase access to the antibiotic that can help prevent sexually transmitted infections, including syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea, after exposure.

 

STI rates have been rising worldwide in recent decades. More than 2.5 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were documented in the United States in 2021, according to the CDC.

 

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MISTR has served over 350,000 people throughout the United States, DC and Puerto Rico. To expand its reach, Schukraft, who founded MISTR to help friends get access to PrEP, said he plans to open storefronts across the United States in the coming years.

 

“For the first time in a generation, you can eliminate HIV if all of those that are negative are on PrEP and all those that are positive are virally suppressed,” Schukraft told Axios.

 

For more information, visit mistr.com.

 

To read more, click #HIV Testing or #HIV Prevention. There, you’ll find headlines such as “Charting the Path to an HIV-Free Generation,” “The Wall Las Memorias Opens a New Health and HIV Center in Downtown Los Angeles” and “STI Testing Every Six Months May Be Enough for PrEP Users.”