As governments fail to address rising rates of sexually transmitted and blood borne infections, grassroots organizers are turning to off-label treatments to protect their communities
If they gave out gold stars for sex, Jody Jollimore would have one.
Not for technique or frequency, per se, but for going above and beyond to protect himself and his partners from a range of sexually transmitted and blood borne infections (STBBIs).
“Gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis–for years I was getting them,” says the queer health advocate and executive director of the Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC). Now, that’s changed.
His secret? Combining the more well known STBBI preventions—like PrEP for HIV, and the HPV vaccine—with lesser-known, “off-label” treatments: the meningitis vaccine Bexsero to prevent gonorrhea, and the antibiotic doxycycline to prevent syphilis and chlamydia. “It’s the gold star standard for sluts,” Jollimore jokes, but it’s an approach he wants to share.
This article was written by Kevin Hurren and originally posted on Xtramagazine. Please click HERE to read the full article.
