Sexually transmitted infections, or STIs, are currently running rampant, as there has been a decrease in protected sex. The CDC reported a total of 2.5 million cases in 2021, a number that is likely even higher due to some individuals either not getting treated or showing symptoms of infection.
Despite dropping between the years of 2017 and 2020, chlamydia cases are rising once more, peaking at 1,628,397 cases in 2021. Chlamydia’s symptoms are abnormal discharge, a burning sensation while peeing, and rectal pain. Women and afab individuals were more affected than men and amab individuals by chlamydia.
Syphilys has seen an uptick with men and amab individuals. Syphilys is characterized by two stages, the first being painless sores and the second being rash, fever, sore throat, headaches, swollen lymph nodes, weight loss, rectal lining inflammation, and/or patchy hair loss.
Gonorrhea cases increased from 2020 to 2021, with men and amab individuals being disproportionately affected. The symptoms, much like syphilis, include rash, fever, sore throat, and headaches, as well as painful stools and rectal pain and discharge.
The core of these issues is simply a lack of education and proper protection being used. Cases for all three rose by 4.4% in 2021, a number that is disproportionate due to many cases going unreported due to many individuals not getting tested or not knowing that they were infected. A solution proposed by Dr. Leandro Mena was to provide at-home testing kits as well as de-stigmatization of STIs and STDs. Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, this eventuality seems far away or impossible.
Them says, “Still, conservatives remain hell-bent on stripping away access to these crucial preventive resources. In a ruling earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s mandate for preventive care coverage, including for PrEP, STI screenings, and birth control, was unconstitutional on the grounds that such a mandate could violate people’s religious beliefs. Although for now, the ruling applies only to the plaintiffs in that case and does not apply broadly, it creates a worrying precedent for future litigation, especially since the Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that employers could use broad religious and moral exemptions to exclude birth control coverage.”
