DHEC offering free HIV/STD testing, free webinars as part of first-ever PrEP Awareness Week

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is organizing its inaugural PrEP awareness week which takes place September 28-October 3. The goal of this week is to inform the public about  pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a daily pill that can help reduce HIV infection in a person exposed to the virus, and inform the people about HIV/STD infection.

“When someone is exposed to HIV through sex or through needle injection, this medicine can work to keep the virus from establishing a permanent infection,” said Ali Mansaray, director of DHEC’s STD, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis Division. “PrEP, when taken properly, can decrease an individual’s chances of contracting HIV through sexual contact by more than 90 percent and can reduce HIV among individuals who inject drugs by more than 70 percent.”

As a part of PrEP Awareness Week, DHEC will offer free and confidential STD and HIV testing. This testing can be scheduled at a local DHEC Public Health Department by calling DHEC’s Care Line at 1-855-4-SCDHEC (1-855-472-3432). Testing locations can be found at scdhec.gov/PrEP.

DHEC is also offering free webinars to inform the public about PrEP. Once the webinars are complete, they will be archived on DHEC’s website for later viewing.

More information can be found at scdhec.gov/PrEP.