Samantha Reese, a HIV tester and councilor with Chattanooga CARES, performs a voluntary swab test on an unidentified inmate at the Hamilton County Jail on Tuesday.After answering a few brief questions, Vicki Price swabbed the inside of her mouth and waited.
In 20 minutes, she would learn if she was HIV positive.
“I guess it’s just a good thing to know,” she said.
Price, 56, of Chattanooga, was booked into the Hamilton County Jail on Tuesday morning on a theft charge, according to the jail website.
She is one of hundreds of inmates at the jail who are now offered free HIV testing through Chattanooga CARES, a local nonprofit organization that specializes in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.