Sometimes data can be deceiving. When you read that the number of people getting STD tests have decreased, your mind can go in either a positive or negative direction. Are fewer people getting tests because they are participating in safer sex practices or are people getting tested less because they simply aren’t getting tested.
In Missouri, it’s probably the latter.
April of 2020 reportedly showed a 21% decrease in cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia compared to the previous year. The actual numbers are 3778 in 2019 vs 2994 in 2020. That is a low for the state, who hasn’t seen a case count that low since 2013 when the number was 2913.
What factors led up to the numbers dropping that dramatically?
COVID for starters. Less people are partaking in risky sexual behavior which means that less people are going to be exposed to STDs. I mean that’s one thing positive that has happened with all of this quarantining. While it’s really hard for some of us to sit on our hands and jerk off during video chats rather than experiencing human contact for real, it’s for the better good of everyone, so I’m OK with it.
However, there has also been less testing in general, which is not a good thing. Some people are afraid to go to their doctors for fear of being exposed to COVID itself…plus most doctors around my neck of the woods are only seeing patients via telemedicine, which is revolutionary, if I’m being honest. You need blood tests etc to get tested for STDs though, so that requires an in office visit.
Another factor that aided the Missouri numbers to drop were the decreased hours at testing facilities. If you’ve got a job that you have to do and the clinic no longer has late nights, it’s going to be very difficult for you to carve out the time to get there, wait around for a few hours (that’s an assumption, but I can’t imagine that Missouri testing sites are any different than those in other parts of the country) and then scramble back to work all on your lunch break. It’s not realistically possible.
While it’s awesome that the actual number of people who tested positive has dropped, don’t let the data deceive you into feeling comfortable with risky sexual behavior. Practice safer sex whenever you can, get tested frequently and normalize sharing your test results with your partners.
Source: St. Louis Post Dispatch
Image: Kenna James in Limo Nympho by Brazzers
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