On World AIDS Day, health leaders are pushing a message that’s as urgent today as it was decades ago: the only way to know your HIV status is to get tested. For Black Americans — who continue to face disproportionately high rates of HIV — testing isn’t just personal. It’s community protection.
According to the CDC, Black people make up nearly 40% of new HIV diagnoses in the U.S., despite being only 12% of the population. Black gay and bisexual men face the highest risk of infection, and Black women continue to be diagnosed at higher rates than any other group of women.
Yet the biggest obstacle to treatment is simple: many people don’t know their status.
“We can’t treat what we don’t know we have,” health experts remind us. “And without knowing, people can unintentionally spread HIV to others.”
As we acknowledge World AIDS Day, The Community Voice is focusing on one essential truth: ending HIV in Black communities begins with testing.
Why Testing Matters — Especially for Black Americans
The CDC recommends that everyone ages 13 to 64 get tested at least once, with annual testing for people with certain risk factors:
- Having multiple sexual partners
- Being a man who has sex with men
- Having sex with someone living with HIV
- Sharing needles or injection drug equipment
- Having had an STI
- Having sex with partners whose sexual history you don’t know
Even in what you believe is a committed, exclusive relationship, both partners should know their status.
Testing gives you power: power to protect your health, power to protect partners, and power to stop transmission in our communities.
Understanding the HIV Window Period
If you think you’ve been exposed and want to test right away, timing matters. Your body needs time to develop detectable antibodies or a measurable amount of the virus.
This delay is known as the HIV window period.
Key guidelines:
- If you know the date of possible exposure, test again at 3 months, when results are 99% accurate.
- If you have early flu-like symptoms, see a doctor immediately for a blood test that can detect infection earlier.
- While waiting to retest, avoid unprotected sex and don’t share needles.
Types of HIV Tests
There are three main types, each detecting HIV at different stages:
1. Antibody Tests
- Detect antibodies your immune system creates.
- Most rapid tests — and the only FDA-approved at-home oral swab test — fall into this category.
2. Antigen/Antibody Tests
- Detect both antibodies and the early HIV p24 antigen.
- The most common test used in clinics and labs.
3. Nucleic Acid Tests (NAT)
- Detect the virus itself.
- Can identify HIV 10 to 33 days after exposure, earlier than other test types.
- Used when someone has symptoms or a high-risk exposure but a rapid test is negative.
A health provider can help you decide which test is right for your situation.
You Can Get Free At-Home HIV Tests — Every 3 Months Through 2027
For people who are uninsured, underinsured, or want privacy, at-home tests are a game changer.
Through the CDC-funded Together TakeMeHome program, anyone age 17 or older in the U.S. can order up to two FREE at-home HIV tests every three months — delivered discreetly to your home.
Order here: https://together.takemehome.org/
No clinic, no waiting room, no cost.
You simply swab your gums and get results in 20 minutes.
The program has already mailed 440,000 tests, and more than 40,000 people who had never been tested before used the service.
For those under 17, free HIV tests may be available at local health centers — check your local clinic or the CDC’s directory for options.
If You Test Positive
A positive at-home result must be confirmed with a blood test. If confirmed:
- Treatment today is highly effective.
- Most people take one pill a day.
- Treatment can fully suppress the virus, making it undetectable.
- And when HIV is undetectable, it cannot be transmitted sexually.
Early treatment allows people to live long, healthy lives.
If You Test Negative
Stay protected:
- Consider PrEP, a medication that dramatically lowers your risk of getting HIV.
- Use condoms.
- Get tested regularly if your risk level changes.
On World AIDS Day — Start With One Step
Black communities continue to carry a disproportionate share of HIV cases — but we also have the power to change that. Testing is the first and most important step in breaking the cycle.
Whether you visit a clinic or order a free at-home test, what matters most is simple:
Know your status. Protect yourself. Protect your community.
Sources: Center for Disease Control, WebMD and KFF