The LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr is doing its part to snuff out the HIV epidemic by offering free at-home test kits to users.
In partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emory University and Building Healthy Online Communities, Grindr is taking up the 'Together TakeMeHome' initiative that provides U.S. based users to HIV testing tools.
Once users log onto the app, they can toggle over to an option that reads "Free HIV Home Test" to get access to the kits provided by OraQuick. The test, which uses gum swabs to assess the sample, renders results within 20 minutes.
"Many Grindr users face barriers to testing in person, including clinic operating hours, transportation costs, concerns about privacy, and fear of judgment," the company said in a statement. "This project is currently aiming to give out one million kits over five years. We're incredibly proud of this partnership, so please check 'Together TakeMeHome,' know your status, tell your friends, and let's continue to fight the epidemic together."
Grindr has distributed more than 125,000 kits so far and noted that a third of recipients were testing for the first time. Right now, the program is only available in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Officials warned residents and tourists packing Mediterranean destinations on Tuesday to stay indoors during the hottest hours as the second heat wave in as many weeks hits the region and Greece, Spain and Switzerland battled wildfires.
While the East Coast grappled with the aftermath of downpours that closed roads and rendered the water supply undrinkable in places, the West and other parts of the country contended with sizzling temperatures and unsafe air quality attributed to Canadian wildfires.
U.S. officials on Monday approved the first long-acting drug to protect babies and toddlers against a respiratory virus that sends tens of thousands of American children to the hospital each year.
