STDs and STIs
Many strains of HPV are low risk and are not dangerous. These strains are especially common in people under the age of 30.
For the greatest protection against cancers caused by HPV, all girls and boys who are 11 or 12 years old should get the recommended series of HPV vaccine.
Around the world, women’s health and lives are at risk every day because there are too few options for STI protection. But there is research going on right now to develop products, known as microbicides, that would give women the power to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS.
On April 23rd, I attended a Senate briefing regarding the desired budget increase for the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention (DSTDP). The presentation was entitled, “The Public Health Crisis of STDs: Are We Ready?” Spoiler alert: We are really not ready; hence the need for $54.7 million increase to the department’s budget.
Did you know that half of all sexually active individuals in the United States would get an STD by the time they’re 25? Sounds viral, right? This statistic sounds outrageous, but in today’s society where many young people view sex as casual, it’s not hard to believe.
College students were among the first to benefit from the new health care law’s no co-pay coverage of contraception and other women’s preventive health services. As of August 1, 2012, all new health insurance plans must cover key women’s preventive health care services — including contraception and HIV counseling and testing — without imposing additional costs like co-pays.