CDC researchers say their report, Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2020, shows how Covid-19 discontinued personal health care and diverted scarce public health resources away from STDs, which had been on the rise for years. Eventually, the diversion of resources to Covid-19 made young people, racial minorities, and gay and bisexual men disproportionately suffer from new infections, he said. The new data provide “the clearest picture [the impact of] Covid-19 for STDs, “said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STDs and Tuberculosis Prevention. “Honestly, there is a lot to be done.” The new CDC report covers 2020, the first year of the pandemic and a period defined by lockdown, social distance and fear. The new report covers the rates of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis. In early 2020, it appeared that social distance could reduce STD rates. By the end of the year, however, few infections had jumped past the levels seen in 2019. In just one example, gonorrhea rates had risen by 10% by the end of the year, Mermin said. These increased rates stemmed from a lack of in-person appointments, delayed health examinations, health insurance shortages for the unemployed, and the “collapse of public health infrastructure” that led to contact detectors and test supplies at Covid. In 2020, reported cases of gonorrhea increased by 10% and primary and secondary syphilis (two stages of the disease, with different symptoms) 7% compared to 2019. Particularly worrying was the rate of congenital syphilis that passed from mother to newborn, which increased by 15% from 2019 and increased by 235% compared to 2016. Chlamydia rates fell by 13% in 2020, but researchers said the decline was not something to celebrate. Rather, chlamydia is typically asymptomatic and is detected on interpersonal tests such as the Pap test. Because people postponed these visits to 2020, the cases probably remained undiagnosed. In addition, groups that suffered disproportionately from new infections, such as racial and ethnic minorities, are among the same groups that were disproportionately affected by Covid-19. STDs have also particularly affected young people and the poor. “Some racial and ethnic minorities continue to have higher rates of STDs,” and half of all new infections are between the ages of 15 and 24, said Dr Leandro Mena, director of the CDC STD prevention department. For decades, the US has spent more on health care than any other country, yet it has worse health outcomes than many other developed countries. Such high rates of STDs among people with fewer resources reflect “the nation’s inability to provide adequate health care for all those in need,” Mena said. Although the 2020 data is bleak, the researchers said there were bright spots. For example, test capability and contact detection staffing have stabilized since 2020 and reach pre-pandemic levels – although this may be due to the fact that many health departments have abandoned or significantly reduced contact detection for Covid-19 after the rise of Omicron. The federal government has also released the first national five-year plan to combat STDs and has invested $ 200 million in building public health capacity. The hope, the researchers said, was to avoid interrupting services for diseases such as sexually transmitted diseases in the event of another emergency.
