STDS are stronger than ever in the USA. In 2021 alone, syphilis rose 31%, its highest rate since 1950, when prevention was far more difficult.
And infant mortality, tragically, from inherited STDs jumped 200% within the last five years. The director of the Biden administration’s STD Prevention in the CDC says she sees no signs of these numbers slowing down.
Even HIV rates, for the first time in a decade, have been increasing among the nation’s largest cities, with the San Francisco in the lead.
This comes after a US circuit court judge tossed out the requirement for health insurance to cover HVI prevention or treatment, making STD abatement all the more difficult. This only applies to private health insurance, but there’s a movement to have it cover public health insurance and Medicaid as well.
This creates an interesting economic conversation as well. STD care costs 16 Billion dollars in lifetime costs, and the numbers are only increasing. And to offset what the CDC calls an STD pandemic, they are requesting an extra 300 million dollars in aid, after receiving a 1 billion dollar grant last year, further putting a strain on the budget and American economy.
The Trump administration, interestingly enough, made it a goal to reduce HIV infections by 90% by 2030. Expect that to not come into fruition, dealing a minor blow to his legacy.
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