City of Cupertino, CA County of Santa Clara COVID-19 Videos, 9 Oct 2020

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From YouTube: County of Santa Clara Public Health: HIV and STDs During COVID-19 - October 9, 2020

Description

Jamina Hackett from the HIV and STDs Prevention and Control program talks to us about their participation during in Binational Health Week and how our community can access HIV and STD testing during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Recorded October 9, 2020.

The City of Cupertino would like to express its thanks to the County of Santa Clara for the use of their video materials during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information regarding the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Cupertino, please visit https://www.cupertino.org/coronavirus.

A

For the latest information regarding the covid 19 pandemic in cupertino, please visit.

B

Cupertino.Org coronavirus.

C

Good morning, everyone thank you so much for tuning in this morning. My name is ricardo romero morales, I'm a lead pio here in the public health department and the emergency operations center, and I'm also the bi-national health week coordinator for the santa clara county this morning, we're going to be talking about sex, hiv and stds prevention, especially right now during covert 19 as part of our binational health week segments that we'll be having every friday. This morning we have jamina hackett from the hiv and stds prevention program here in santa clara county.

C

Who will talk to us a little bit a little bit more about the services that the program offers, but before we get started, I want to let you know that we're going to be removing our face coverings, so our asl interpreters can understand what we're saying and as well as you who is watching us at home so good morning, germina. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. Good morning.

D

C

So jamina your program, hiv and std's prevention and control here for the santa clara county. Can you tell us a little bit about what it is that you guys do and what services are offered to our community.

D

Okay, so the std hiv prevention program is a part of the infectious disease branch of the county of santa clara public health department. We offer free to low-cost hiv and std testing, as well as education, outreach and community assistance and technical assistance and capacity building.

C

Oh wow that you guys do offer a lot of services, so you me, you mentioned hiv testing. So how soon can people get the results when they do an hiv test with you guys.

D

So we actually use a rapid hiv test, so somebody can get their results in 20 minutes after they take the test. Oh.

C

Wow wow that that is impressive, so uh your program, the hiv and stds and control program has been a partner for binational health week for a number of years. Now, uh can you talk to us about the importance of the partnership with my national health week and the importance of bringing the services to our latinx community.

D

So by national health week is one of our biggest events to reach the latinx community. It's really important to us to be involved in this in in and by national health week, because the latinx community is one of our highest priority communities for the county of santa clara.

D

They actually bear over half the burden of hiv infections in 2019, and it's also really important, because they're also affected by other health health disparities as far as hypertension and diabetes, and so it's really important for us to use this time to raise awareness about our program as well as other programs within the community that are available to the latinx population in santa clara county.

C

Yeah, thank you so much for all the work that your team does. Thank you uh and now talk to us a little bit about, uh as we know, we're in that pandemic, we're under the covet 19 pandemic right now. How has that impacted your program so far.

D

So we're still able to offer hiv tests, but we have to make sure that we follow all cdc and county guidelines when offering these tests. So we only offer tests by appointment only and somebody can call our office and make an appointment, but we and we're still, but we're still providing hiv and std testing we're also in the process of trying to of launching a take-home hiv test. So people will be able to conduct hiv tests themselves in the privacy of their own home.

D

In addition to that, we just submitted a proposal to launch an hiv self-testing app, so there'll be an app on your phone that'll remind you when it's time to get an hiv test to get an std test and allow you to be able to keep up with all of that, while you're, while you're living your lives, wow.

C

That's amazing, you know having that reminder on your phone, especially as now with cover 19. Sometimes we tend to lose sense of time. It's a good opportunity for us to continue to remind us when to get an hiv test or an std test. So you mentioned that people can go and make an appointment to get an hiv test.

C

Where do they go? Do they have to visit a specific website or do they call.

D

So we do have a website. Our website is gettestedscc.org. If a person visits that website, they will find the phone number to call the crane center and schedule an appointment and they can schedule an appointment that way.

C

Awesome, thank you. So much now talk to us about prep. I heard earlier that your program is also offering prep services and, uh if you can uh it uh help us understand what prep is, and I remember back when the pandemic started to happen. I saw some memes uh talking about like oh I'm not gonna get covered because I'm on prep does prep help with covet.

D

So prep stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis. It's a pill that a person takes once a day to stop the spread of hiv. So, while prep is good to stop the spread of hiv, it does not protect against stds or covet 19.. So prep is specifically a pill that a person takes to protect against hiv and nothing else.

C

Awesome that that is an important highlight that you mentioned there uh and remind people that prep it's only for uh protection of hiv, but not for covet 19.. Now, how often uh should people get beginning tested for hiv and stds.

D

So the cdc has guidelines for how often a person should get tested for hiv and stds for anyone who's sexually active. They should be getting tested at least once a year for females who are sexually active and under the age of 25, then they should be getting tested once a year for gonorrhea and chlamydia as well as hiv. If a person is over 25, a female is over 25 and has multiple sex partners or new sex partners, then they should be getting tested once a year for gonorrhea and chlamydia as well.

D

Another population that should be getting tested at least once a year for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and hiv are men who have sex with men are men who identify as bisexual or homosexual and then additionally, if anybody has any new sex partners or is um or has multiple sex partners, then they should be getting tested at least once a year for gonorrhea chlamydia and hiv as well.

C

Excellent that that's a great reminder now. uh We are aware that now there is a sex and covenanting guidance document up on our website.

C

Can you talk to us a little bit about that about that uh this form or this guide uh or give us some tips of how we can continue to protect ourselves uh if we're sexually active during cover 19.

D

So being sexually active during cove at 19, the best person to be sexually active with is somebody who lives within your household or some or somebody who that basically, somebody who lives within your household always remember that you are your best sex partner. So you can have sex with yourself. You can cyber sex, but taking it outside of the household, can be a risk factor for contracting covet 19.. So if a person chooses to have sex with somebody outside of their household, there are some recommendations that we have as far as having that conversation.

D

So we already know that we should be having the conversation of stds and hiv, but also throwing, in that conversation of covet 19, of assessing somebody's risk factors, assessing somebody's um exposure risk and making sure that we're integrating that conversation into our our sex conversation as far as stds and hiv as well.

C

Excellent great points that you're making there and also for the crane center. I remember visiting the crane center uh a few times in the past, so I remember that you guys had condoms and lube and all these goodies that people can use, do you guys are still offering those.

D

So we still do offer condoms and safer sex kids. That is one thing that we are attaching to our take-home hiv test. So if a person gets a take-home hiv test, they'll also get a safer sex packet and there's the opportunity to order safer sex packets through our app once we launch it, hopefully that'll be included, hopefully we'll be able to launch the app, and so that would be great.

C

Awesome and all the services are free right. The the sex kids.

D

So all of our services are free. Another thing that we're doing is we're partnering with partners throughout the community, so throughout by national health week there will be various partners throughout the community that will have these safer sex kids to give out into the community. So just keep an eye on the binational health week event and I'm sure they'll have a way to get that out to you.

C

Excellent, thank you so much jamina, and can you please remind us again what was that website where people can get more information from your program.

D

So our website is gettestedscc.org.

C

Excellent, thank you. So much are there any last words that you want to give out to our audience.

D

So I just want to let everybody know that having a healthy sex life is a really important part of life, and we need to make sure that we're paying attention to our our sexual health, because having good sexual health can play a huge part in having a healthy sex life.

D

So it's important to have conversations about safe sex to take care of our sexual health by getting tested at least once a year three to six months, if somebody has multiple sex partners or has new sex partners often so that's just what I want to share that we have to pay attention to our sex lives and keep that healthy in order to live healthy lives in general.

C

Awesome, thank you so much and also having those conversations and being open to have a sex conversation with your partner about. How can you both protect each other? So thank you so much amina for all those tips and also just want to make a friendly reminder as part of my national health week tomorrow, we're having our own binational health week testing site and we're also going to be offering flu shots. The location will be at the children's discovery museum here in san jose, california, and the times will be from 10 a.m, to 3 p.m.

C

There will be free parking and you can also pick up a sex kid that she was described. The gemini was describing earlier uh from us once you go, get tested uh for covet 19 and for and get a free flu shot. uh You might be seeing around this flyer, and this is the flyer that we are advertising our event tomorrow and just also a friendly reminder. If you want to learn more about binational health week or want to find out what events are coming up next week. Please visit our website and that is www dot.

C

C

Org- and you can also see the the link over here at the bottom uh so that way you can also access that website. Well, that's all we have for today, but thank you so much germina for joining us today. I do want to remind our audience if you have, um if you have any questions, please visit our website regarding covet, and that is.

C

Www.Sccgov.Org coronavirus uh again, thank you so much for being patient with, with all of us, remember, to maintain your social distance, wear your face covering wash your hands and please stay safe and also as a friendly reminder. We have our facebook lives every friday for by national health week in english and spanish, and we have a regular uh facebook live segment on monday and wednesday and fridays all right. Thank you. So much.

E

A

For the latest information regarding the covid 19 pandemic in cupertino, please visit.

B

Cupertino.Org coronavirus.