World AIDS Day 2021: Free HIV testing offered in Neptune on Dec. 1

Ilana Keller
Asbury Park Press

Free, one-minute HIV testing will be made available from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday in Neptune.

Marking World AIDS Day, Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center will provide the tests at the academic medical center’s Northwest Pavilion, at 1945 Route 33 in Neptune. It will take place in the level 2 entrance lobby, accessible via the parking garage.

No appointment is necessary.

World AIDS Day has been observed since 1988, when it was launched "to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness," according to worldaidsday.org.

More than 38,000 New Jersey residents were living with HIV or AIDS as of last year, according to the New Jersey Department of Health, which says the number of new HIV diagnoses dropped from 1,541 cases in 2007 to 1,063 in 2018.

For more information about Jersey Shore’s services, visit jerseyshoreuniversitymedicalcenter.com. For a free physician referral, call 848-HMH-WELL.

Visit worldaidsday.org to learn more, to make a donation or to download a virtual red ribbon.

Ilana Keller is an award-winning journalist and lifelong New Jersey resident who loves Broadway and really bad puns. Reach out on Twitter: @ilanakeller; ikeller@gannettnj.com