National HIV Testing Day reminds gays to know their status
HIV/AIDS organizations are urging everyone to know their status on National HIV Testing Day, June 27.
The National Association of People With AIDS began National HIV Testing Day in 1995. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention estimates some 250,000 people in the U.S. living with HIV/AIDS do not know their status.
“In order to protect your HIV status and do something about it, you need to know what your status is,” said Neena Smith-Bankhead, director of education for AID Atlanta. “Without knowing you can’t really take steps to care for yourself and those around you.”
AID Atlanta will offer instant oral testing all day at its office on Peachtree Street, in the morning at the Mexican Consulate and at the Latin American Association in the afternoon. The test can be done with a mouth swab and provide results in 20 minutes.
National HIV Testing Day
June 27
www.napwa.org
Where to get tested:
AID Atlanta
12 p.m. – 7 p.m.
1605 Peachtree St.
404-870-7770 www.aidatlanta.org
Mexican Consulate
9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
2600 Apple Valley Road
404-266-2233
Latin American Association
2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
2750 Buford Highway
404-638-1800
Dr.
Harriet
Robinson’s
life
work
can
be
measured
with
a
microscope,
but
it’s
big
enough
to
possibly
change
the
world.
For
16
years
Robinson
has
worked
80-hour
weeks
in
the
hopes
of
developing
a
vaccine
to
prevent
further
spread
of
the
HIV/AIDS
pandemic.
“None
of
my
family
members
have
AIDS,
I
don’t
have
any
close
friends
with
it,”
Robinson
said.
“It’s
really
just
something
that
I’ve
been
trained
to
do.
I
just
like
working
on
something
that
is
important
for
world
health.”
Robinson
started
her
vaccine
research
while
at
the
Worcester
Foundation
for
Experimental
Biology
in
Shrewsbury,
Mass.
In
1992,
she
was
one
of
the
discoverers
of
DNA
vaccines.
“At
the
time
I
was
working
on
retroviruses
and
HIV
is
one
of
the
viruses
that
could
be
affected
by
a
DNA
vaccine,
and
so
it
was
logical
for
me
to
pursue
AIDS
research,”
she
said.
During
the
time
Robinson
started
her
research,
AIDS
was
a
leading
cause
of
death
among
gay
men.
She
said
there
was
no
stigma
from
the
research
community,
but
she
did
have
to
find
a
new
place
to
do
her
research.
“In
order
to
move
on
the
AIDS
virus,
I
had
to
move
from
where
I
had
been
at
Worcester
to
the
University
of
Massachusetts
because
they
were
worried
about
accidental
transmission,
which
is
really
unnecessary,”
Robinson
said.
“People
are
at
ease
working
with
the
virus
now,
and
it’s
very
easy
to
contain
it
because
it’s
needle
sticks
and
broken
glass
that
transmit
it
and
you
can
control
that.
…
If
I
had
stayed
at
the
Worcester
Foundation
I
would
have
been
the
only
lab
in
the
building.”
Robinson
stayed
at
the
University
of
Massachusetts
until
1997
when
she
needed
to
begin
running
primate
tests.
“In
order
to
do
the
vaccine
trials
you
have
to
use
a
non-human
challenge
…
it’s
the
only
way
where
you
can
do
an
immuno
challenge
so
you
can
see
if
you
get
a
response,”
Robinson
said.
“At
other
facilities
you
were
very
distant
from
the
site
and
it
was
very
difficult
to
get
results.
I
had
been
looking
for
a
non-human
research
facility
and
that’s
how
I
came
to
Emory.”
‘CLOSER
THAN
YOU
KNOW’
Robinson
began
her
research
at
the
Yerkes
National
Primate
Research
Center
at
Emory
University.
On
a
tour
of
another
research
facility,
she
met
a
young
researcher
from
India.
Dr.
Rama
Amara
had
been
assigned
to
occupy
Robinson
during
a
scheduling
conflict.
A
20-minute
conversation
led
to
a
job
offer
and
Amara
played
a
significant
role
in
developing
the
vaccine
as
it
moved
through
the
clinical
trial
process.
The
two
work
closely
enough
to
know
each
other’s
habits,
and
when
research
began
to
look
promising,
Amara
noticed
a
change
in
Robinson.
“I
could
be
a
little
bit
off,
but
I
still
say
with
a
good
intention
that
when
I
joined
—
then
on
the
weekends
she
wasn’t
there
very
much,
I
don’t
remember,
but
I
don’t
think
she
was
there,”
Amara
said.
“Once
we
had
some
interesting
results
in
monkeys
then
I
saw
a
total
shift.
She
saw
that
there
is
something
here
that
can
be
taken
forward
to
people.
Then
you
see
her
and
there
is
no
day
or
night,
she
is
there.”
Now
her
days
start
at
8
a.m.
and
tend
to
end
after
7
p.m.
On
Saturday
she
attends
a
weekly
yoga
class
and
arrives
at
work
at
11
a.m.
Sunday
she
attends
church,
buys
groceries
at
Whole
Foods
and
works
from
noon
until
4
p.m.
“Then
she
started
working
longer
hours,
and
writing
grants
and
hiring
people,
it
was
like
an
entire
industry.
I’ve
seen
a
big
shift
in
her
life,”
Amara
said.
With
substantial
funding
from
Emory
University,
Robinson
and
Amara
founded
GeoVax.
They
are
building
the
company
to
develop
and
deliver
Robinson’s
vaccine
quickly,
and
as
inexpensively
as
possible,
to
the
world.
Her
colleagues
describe
Robinson
as
a
methodical
and
systematic
thinker,
who,
while
collaborative,
wants
to
remain
in
control
of
her
vaccine
throughout
testing
and
potentially
after
it
gets
to
the
market.
Robinson
left
her
full-time
position
at
Emory
in
February
to
work
at
GeoVax,
but
is
still
technically
part
of
the
Emory
faculty.
After
the
well-publicized
failure
of
a
Merck
HIV
vaccine
earlier
this
year,
the
Robinson
vaccine
has
gained
more
publicity
as
many
researchers
view
it
as
the
best
shot
to
date
to
one
day
provide
an
effective
vaccine
...
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