You can postpone getting a haircut to reduce your risk of getting COVID-19, but one thing you absolutely shouldn’t skip is regular testing for sexually transmitted diseases.
Planned Parenthood has kept its health center doors open throughout the pandemic because many of our services can’t wait including birth control, abortion, UTI treatment, and testing for sexually transmitted infections.
“For those people who have STI symptom, we have been able to get them in and get them treated,” Assistant Medical Director Kyle Bukowski said. “But most STIs don’t show any symptoms.”
The lack of symptoms for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis is troubling because these infections can cause lasting health issues if left untreated. These STIs, which are easy to treat, can cause chronic pelvic pain, pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and/or severe pregnancy and newborn complications.
“A lot of people have put off regular testing because they want to minimize their risk of getting COVID-19, which is scary because then you don’t know how many people have STIs out there and don’t know it.”
Across the country, there has been a steep decline in the number of STI tests provided since the pandemic caused stay-at-home orders across the country in March 2020, according to the CDC. That’s true in our region too. There was a decline in the number of STI tests provided at Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest covering San Diego, Riverside, and Imperial counties from 422,000 in 2019 to 370,000 in 2020.
Bukowski said that social distancing likely reduced the spread of STIs in 2020, but not enough to reduce a five-year upward trend in STI rates, as reported by the CDC.
“We will see a rebound in STI positivity when people feel comfortable getting tested again,” Bukowski said. “What we’re looking at is a hidden epidemic.”
Young people, LGBTQ+ communities, low-income communities, and communities of color are the hardest hit by STIs — and in many cases, Planned Parenthood is the only source of care and education for these communities.
“What I want people to know is that it is incredibly safe to come into our health centers; we are taking every precaution to keep our staff and patients safe,” Bukowski added. “I don’t want one person to skip these very necessary tests because they are afraid of getting COVID in our health centers.”
Make an appointment today to get tested by calling 1-888-743-7526 or make an appointment online at https://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-center