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The COVID-19 pandemic may be the public health crisis on the tips of everyone’s tongues and thumbs.
But there’s a congruent health crisis that the Centers For Disease Control and PreventionTrusted Source declared a growing epidemic: the rise of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and infections (STIs).
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected access to in-person STI testing, treatment, and preventative care — helping to propel the STD epidemic further. Or so experts think.
Read on to learn more about the intersection of the two (types of) viruses. Plus, where to get STI tested right now.
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How COVID-19 affected STI testing availability
In short: It greatly reduced it.
Hospitals in COVID-19 hotspots were encouraged to optimize their resources, and so sexual health services were reduced.
Take New York, for exampleTrusted Source. On March 18, 2020, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene closed seven of eight sexual health clinics, keeping one open for limited and emergency services only.
As well, many urban community centers, which are major providers of healthcare and sexual health services (especially for the LGBTQ+ community), announced they would limit their in-person visits.
Even local Planned Parenthood centers reduced hours or suspended walk-in appointments. In total, over 80 percent of STD programs across the United States paused services and community visits throughout this time, according to a May 2020 survey by the National Coalition of STD Directors.
“At some points during the pandemic, it was even hard to get swabs for STI tests, because there was a supply crunch [due to] COVID-19 tests,” adds Dr. Emily Rymland, DNP, FNP-C, the director of clinical operations at Nurx, a digital healthcare provider.
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What it means for STI rates
Naturally, a drop in overall testing is going to result in a drop in positive tests. In October 2020, the New York Times reported that rates of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia had taken an “abrupt downturn” in 2020.
But this drop, according to experts, isn’t a reflection of a decrease in the number of people living with STIs.
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Rather, it’s a reflection of the decrease in people who have gotten STI tested and the increase in undetected infections.