,” Harvey said. “Those numbers were only made worse by the pandemic,” as clinics shuttered and the number of people getting tested tanked.Even when clinics reopened, many people were still reluctant to come in out of fear of the coronavirus, said Dr. Meera Shah, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood’s Hudson Peconic New York region.
“Now that folks are vaccinated and kind of resuming normal activities, dating, dating on apps, the STIs that had gone undiagnosed and untreated may have been spreading during the pandemic, and now folks are maybe going to be spreading them even more,” Shah said. Other students said,"if you want to use one ... the guy will try and change your mind and talk you out of it.”