Doctors fear huge spike in STDs after pandemic

As we’re heading what the media has referred to as “hot vax summer,” experts are worried that STIs could return with a vengeance. Researchers analyzed positivity rates based on data from over 18.6 million tests performed across the US from January 2019 through June 2020. They found that testing for both chlamydia and gonorrhea hit their lowest point in early April 2020, when cases of COVID were on the rise. That’s particularly significant as cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis nearly quadrupled between 2015 and 2019, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.