A program to mail condoms to teens is being launched in Contra Costa County to address high STD rates among youth in the region.
STD rates among youth ages 15-19 are increasing in Contra Costa County, according to the health department.
Contra Costa ranked 14th among California counties in gonorrhea rates in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), including more than 2,000 local cases that year in people aged 15 to 24.
CDC data shows that Contra Costa also ranked 20th among California counties in chlamydia rates and 24th in rates of syphilis in newly released 2018 data.
To combat rising STD rates, the Condom Access Project (CAP) allows teens and young adults in Contra Costa to sign up for free, confidential delivery of condoms to their homes as often as once a month.
“We know that education and confidential access to condoms reduces the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy among young people who choose to have sex,” said Dr. Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa County’s Health Officer. “Rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis have been increasing dramatically in Contra Costa and across the nation in the past few years. Programs like CAP are critical for keeping teens and young adults in our community healthy and safe by removing barriers to accessing protection, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to the latest data from the California Department of Public Health, which echo CDC findings, teens and young adults have the highest rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia of all age groups in California.
- In 2018, 41,758 cases of chlamydia and 7,000 cases of gonorrhea were reported in males and females 15-19 years of age in California, representing 18% of all chlamydia cases and nearly 9% of all gonorrhea cases in the state.
- In 2018, there were over 3,400 cases of chlamydia, and more than 2000 cases of gonorrhea reported in males and females 15-24 years of age in Contra Costa County
Gross that so many children have std’s
Mailing them condoms is not confidential… if a package comes for my teenagers I’d know about it.
Too bad the “parents” of those featured in the prior story were not able to participate in this program.
Sadly, morals are no longer taught at home or in school. Also, who is paying for this? I imagine it is the taxpayers.
I suspect that the County will soon have a program where someone will come into your home and wipe your nose for you should you sneeze.
Kids need to find other, more productive ways to stay busy during the pandemic. Not this.
I guess the kids have a different definition of social distancing.
AD
I am glad they doing this. My 10th grader has been so busy with these teenage girls I was starting to get concerned. Thank you CCC.
You could always buy a box and leave them on his dresser.
Where exactly do the parents figure in this brilliant plan … if at all?
Make sure your mail your Christmas cards early this year. The post office is about to be overwhelmed with mail, plus all the condoms.
Thought maybe they would send them out to put the abortion clinics and teen pregnancies out of business. But no it is for disease control. If I was smart enough to go to a drug store in the next town to buy them in the fifties they can go to a drug store anywhere in town in the 2020s.
Have consultants been hired to study the life cycle costs and benefits of this program?
For example, do the condoms come with postage paid envelopes so that people can return the used condoms for proper recycling?
Also, I have seen people wearing masks hanging below their jaw or not covering their nose, or simply socializing while not bothering with masks at all. I assume they will be equally diligent with condoms. Will you also have a program to deal with all of the extra babies that result from a mass distribution of condoms to a population that’s not well known for making rational, well considered decisions?
I suggest they be imprinted with the disclaimer:
“Past performance is not indicative of future results”.
You can lead a horse to water.
But you can’t make him drink.
Wear your mask, wash your hands, wash your….ahhh….nevermind.
So you have an issue with STDs, so you mail out condoms to encourage a false sense of security and further encourage promiscuous activity?
Sex education in all schools, 5th or 6th grade and up, should give details on what the STD does and what the results can be if not treated. But then the schools would be taking it out of the parents hands and that is a no-no.
Where do these idiots come from?
They come from the idiots that did not wear condoms.
Why I think you’re absolutely right @cat’s meow! LOLOL!
I second that ZZ.
A friend of mine has never used a condom has never had a STD or unwanted pregnancy. Guess my friend was lucky. STDs must be wide spread for the county to mail out condoms. Hope this helps.
I have a friend who’s a virgin, too. Sucks for them, lol.
I would say one of two things. One your friend is infertile or two he is Greek.
What bothers me about this article (and many more like it), is that these condoms are described as “free”. With all due respect, they are not free. The county health department should have some transparency when it comes to programs such as this one. Are these paid for by tax dollars or a public health grant? Further, when advertising this program, they could state that there is no cost to the person receiving the goods.
Nothing is free!
Hey … Perhaps the condom companies can take a cue from the Legal Weapon movie series, in which Roger’s daughter made condom commercials, and the police department presented Roger with a blown up condom arrangement. Heck, the condoms could even be stamped “CCC Condoms”! Or “CoCo County Condoms” on the largest size.
Perhaps some CoCo county teens can themselves “star” in such new condom commercials, and hence enjoy 15 minutes of fame.
Oh brother. I hope they mail them with some disclaimers so this doesn’t provide a false sense of security. Condoms offer only limited protection at best from HPV and Herpes in particular. And of course they can fail, in which case all bets are off for syphillis, HIV, gonorreah, chlamydia, and pregnancy.
Good to see more useful things being done with Measure X money.
The Nanny State at it’s finest – wait, how ’bout viagra and pot for the elderly?
Why not teach them to keep that pecker in their pants? That is the best birth control, STD prevention there is!
exactly….
The math is pretty clear, if you want to reduce unwanted pregnancies and STDs then the most effective way is to make sure to teach teens about birth control, especially condoms. Pushing abstinence only has not proven effective.
You must teach Pre-Teens as well…. But, you’ll find most kids already know about “Safe-Sex-Practices”. Impulse control is more of an issue; A very difficult thing to teach and instill.
Which is why they need to have condoms on hand when the impulse strikes.
Sending teens condoms is sending them the wrong message and is a suggestion not a rule that they should wear one.It would have been better if they had sent products that help them focus their energy on productive hobbies that lead to a career and improve their lives and the lives of others.
They should send condoms to illegals but doing that could be perceived as being discriminatory and oppressive and we don’t need any more riots.
Also, PESFG:
They’re also not the ones rioting… Them along with Asians are probably the ones least rioting. It’s our kids making the commotion!
Look at Portland and here in Walnut Creek. They’re all white!
All condoms will be made in China, and purchased from the Newscum rubber company.
Yeah, and it’s all free for everybody, right?
PESFG, I’m a numbers guy, and fortunately that’s not what the statistics imply. We don’t need to assume how teens are going to react, we already know: The CDC has has detailed this success themselves: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/effective-interventions/prevent/condom-distribution-programs/index.html
I’m regards to your second point… I’m sure their children (who are likely citizens, mind you) will be able to take advantage of this program. So no need to worry!
On a side note, as a fellow conservative, you should probably be a bit kinder to that demographic. They’re the only reason this election was even close. Hispanics are the most conservative minority, after all. With whites slowly dropping like flies as the boomers croak, those illegals are going to be your best friend if we want Republicans to keep winning.
Don’t worry, you can be tough on immigration (Obama deported ~5x more undocumented folks in his first four years than Trump did, and also did so in a more calculated manner. One of the areas I’ll give him.plenty of credit), but also be likeable among them.
That study you refer to and the bibliography backing it up refer to controlling the spread of HIV in high risk populations such as the gay community in SF and NY, and it does not seem to have anything to do with PESFG’s point that the impact of general distribution through the mail may have unintended consequences.