AUSTIN — Four people have visited Scott County’s temporary needle exchange program since it opened Saturday, turning in more than 300 dirty needles in exchange for 168 clean ones.
“This is what I expected ... because it takes a while to get the word out and it takes a while to get the confidence from the people,” Scott County Health Department Public Health Nurse Brittany Combs said Tuesday at Austin City Hall.
The needle exchange is one part of a comprehensive approach to suppress an unprecedented HIV outbreak in southeastern Indiana, granted through a state executive order that lasts until April 25.
The latest count shows that 84 confirmed cases of HIV and five preliminary.
Combs said word of mouth is the most effective method in the small town of Austin and other surrounding communities for informing its residents.
State and local health officials are going door to door, sending mailers and posting fliers about the program.
“We have heard that some people don’t trust, that the cops are there waiting to arrest them as soon as they walk in the door, or that we’re going to track them and as soon as the 30 days is over we’re going to arrest them,” Combs said. “None of that is true.”
The needle exchange program, as well as other resources including Hepatitis A and B vaccinations, are at the One-Stop Shop at 2277 W. Frontage Road. A shuttle service to the One-Stop Shop is being provided by Grace Covenant Church.