In a recent op-ed in the NYT, the writer discussed the fact that Americans are about to start having casual sex again (woohoo!) but lamented that STDs could be on the rise again when folks feel safe enough to get booty again

. VIA NYT:

Recall that after the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, the ’20s roared as a generation made up, Gatsby-like, for lost time. Nicholas Christakis, a physician and a professor of sociology at Yale, has already predicted a possible uptick in what he called “sexual licentiousness” by 2024. We wouldn’t be quite so judgy, and what’s more, partying never fully stopped during the pandemic. (Many college campuses were virus hot spots.) Still, it’s certainly plausible that once the masks come off, 21st-century youth will try to compensate for what they’ve missed by doubling down on party and hookup culture.

Man, the Roaring 20s again? Flapper outfits and steamy speakeasy hookups? Yes Please. Just remember – protect yourself and others by using condoms!

Once the pandemic is finally behind us, Covid-driven funding for health department infrastructure and contact tracers should be maintained and redirected toward creating robust S.T.I. control programs in every state, including expanding access to publicly funded sexual health services. All of that would be politically contentious, but the alternative is to continue to sacrifice the health of tens of millions of young people: Untreated S.T.I.s can result in pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility and cancer, and increase the risk of acquiring and transmitting H.I.V.