New Data on HIV Diagnoses; Disproportionate in Rural Areas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on HIV testing. The CDC data show that less than 40% of people in the U.S. have ever been tested for HIV; in the seven states with rural areas that are particularly affected by HIV, just 26% of people recommended for annual HIV testing were tested in the past year. The proposed HHS-wide initiative, “Ending the HIV Epidemic – A Plan for America,” is multiyear initiative designed to end the HIV epidemic over 10 years by significantly increasing public health resources, technology, and expertise on the ground in the hardest-impacted areas. The plan, if funded, will focus first on the geographic areas with the greatest HIV burden, including the 50 local jurisdictions and seven states highlighted in the MMWR report, before expanding to reach all areas of the nation affected by HIV.
