CHECK Nord #2
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CORONA<br />
SEX DURING CORONA<br />
ENGLISH<br />
The coronavirus is mainly transmitted<br />
through droplets. This means that even coughing,<br />
breathing on, sneezing or speaking can lead to<br />
an infection. Therefore, caution should be<br />
exercised, especially during sex.<br />
We asked Dr. med. Christoph Spinner, senior physician<br />
and pandemic officer at the Klinikum rechts der Isar.<br />
Hello Dr. Spinner,<br />
Corona has had<br />
a firm grip on us<br />
for over a year now.<br />
Unfortunately also on our<br />
sex life. What is your advice to<br />
sexually active men?<br />
Above all, to stay calm. Sex is and will remain<br />
a basic need even in the pandemic. Everyone<br />
has to decide for themselves how much risk<br />
they should take with regard to sexually transmitted<br />
infections, HIV or Covid-19. For social<br />
and psychological reasons in particular, it is<br />
important not to completely withdraw from<br />
your social and sexual lives.<br />
How can we best protect ourselves from<br />
Corona during sex?<br />
Sex is an intimate endeavor – and that‘s a good<br />
thing. Therefore, you cannot completely protect<br />
yourself against a SARS-CoV-2 transmission.<br />
Nevertheless, the risk can be minimized<br />
by avoiding contact while you or your partner<br />
have symptoms of Covid-19 or while there has<br />
been a risk of infection in the last 14 days.<br />
It is also worthwhile to speak openly about<br />
Covid-19 with your sexual partner. And of<br />
course it is best to get vaccinated against<br />
Covid-19 as soon as possible.<br />
If we are all vaccinated, will the road be clear<br />
again for a more free sex life?<br />
The vaccination reduces both the risk of<br />
SARS-CoV-2 transmission and the risk of<br />
severe disease. The aim is to achieve herd<br />
immunity, i.e. vaccinating over 70% of the<br />
population. Yet even with this we will not be<br />
able to immediately drop all the other pandemic<br />
control measures. But the faster and the<br />
more people are vaccinated, the faster it will<br />
be possible to return to the usual ”normality“.<br />
In Berlin and Cologne we spoke to a number<br />
of practices focusing on HIV at the beginning<br />
of the pandemic. Contrary to expectations, the<br />
numbers of STI infections have gone up. What<br />
is the situation in Munich like?<br />
Throughout the pandemic, we have tried to<br />
maintain diagnostics and therapy offers for<br />
STI, PrEP and HIV. We have also observed<br />
that the number of infections with STIs has<br />
remained stable. This fact also shows how<br />
important sexual health and medical offers<br />
are, especially in the pandemic. In my opinion,<br />
dealing with Covid-19 in a destigmatizing way<br />
is just as important as it is with HIV. The two<br />
pandemics have a lot in common on this point.<br />
(ts,mb)<br />
Klinikum rechts der Isar<br />
Technische Universität München<br />
Ismaninger Str. 22<br />
81675 München<br />
www.mri.tum.de<br />
<strong>CHECK</strong> NORD <strong>#2</strong><br />
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