DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens is partnering with health authorities and service organizations to provide pharmacist-administered testing for the virus that causes AIDS, the retail pharmacy chain said.

The company is participating in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pilot with Greater Than AIDS and other organizations and local officials to expand HIV testing services and connect more people with the virus to treatment and care.

Walgreens will work with Greater Than AIDS, health departments and local AIDS organizations to provide free HIV testing at 47 stores in 20 cities to support National HIV Testing Day, which is on Wednesday. About 1.1 million people in the United States are living with HIV, but nearly 1-in-5 don't know they have it, according to the CDC.

Through the first phase of the two-year program, select Walgreens pharmacies in Chicago and Washington, D.C., and a select Take Care Clinic in Lithonia, Ga. are offering free HIV testing. The CDC plans to use pilot results from select pharmacies and in-store clinics in urban and rural areas identified as highly impacted by HIV to develop a model that pharmacists and nurse practitioners can use to implement HIV testing throughout the nation.

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