STD Cases Hit An All-Time High — Despite The Pandemic

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You know that COVID-19 is still out of control, in fact, cases are rising in 27 states. But it’s a shock to learn that chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis are on the rise too. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) just released a report noting that STD cases are at an all-time high for the sixth year in a row.

In 2000, syphilis rates were so low that public health officials believed eradication was on the horizon. But in 2019, the US counted 130,000 cases.

This was all before the pandemic took hold and testing supplies were diverted from STDs to COVID-19.https://t.co/dyjLmyctWo

— KQED News (@KQEDnews) April 14, 2021

While the data is from 2019, the CDC warns that the trend has continued during the pandemic, and probably because of the pandemic. “Preliminary 2020 data suggest that many of these concerning trends continued in 2020, when much of the country experienced major disruptions to STD testing and treatment services due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the CDC says. 

This is not a surprise to many doctors, who point out that the focus on coronavirus has taken staffing and resources aways from STD mitigation efforts.

“Since COVID-19, staff have been deployed away from routine health screening for sexually transmitted infections and partner services, we are underprepared,” Northwell Health vice chair Dr. Jill Maura Rabin told HealthDay. “And yet we have to act, even with an undercapacity workforce.” 

And apparently, people are totally still fucking. ThinkGlobalHealth reported in their February article The Silent Spread of STDs During the Pandemic, “Lockdowns, social distancing, and other measures to combat COVID-19 have not discouraged sex, especially among young people. In forthcoming research, Dr. Trent and co-authors surveyed 194 young adults in Baltimore, Maryland, showing that about 8 out of 10 were sexually active during the stay-at-home order. Less than half surveyed reported condom use, which is concerning given that adolescents make up a quarter of the population but account for almost half of sexually transmitted infections, according to the CDC. “

Moreover, many clinics have had “testing blackouts,” remaining closed during the pandemic, so testing rates have dipped and many people may have been unaware they’re carrying the infections. 

We’ll remind you of our list of the 9 best places for free STD testing in San Francisco. Because once this pandemic is over, the number of bad sexual decisions we make is going to be out of control.