Let’s be clear, people don’t stop having sex in a pandemic. Period. That includes all people, regardless of race, income, ethnicity, or immigration status. Our community is still having sex. We are also the least likely to be able to work from home and make up one-fourth of the country’s low-wage earners. A lot of us are still going to work because we can’t afford not to, and we are contracting the virus at alarming rates. Our lives are not on pause, and that includes our sex lives. In fact, in times of crisis, research shows folks may have even more sex than normal.

 So we can’t deprioritize sexual and reproductive health care just because we are in a pandemic. We need access to birth control, STI and UTI testing and treatment to stay safe and healthy at this moment. Pre-pandemic, our community historically had less access to this crucial health care, but as we face challenges we have never seen before, we need a way to access that care now more than ever.

Planned Parenthood is now offering a way for us to get the care we need, online and by phone via telehealth for more than half a million Latinos who already rely on Planned Parenthood for care every year. Our community depends on the affordable services Planned Parenthood has always provided for us. For a lot of our people struggling to get by, Planned Parenthood is their only source of health care. 

 By the end of this month, you will be able to access services like birth control, UTI screening and treatment, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment, and gender-affirming hormone therapy without the need for an in-person visit to a health center in English.

 And in some states, like California, Florida, and New York, you’ll be able to get telehealthcare in Spanish. As the world of health care delivery shifts to telehealth, we know that not everyone in our community is bilingual, so Planned Parenthood is working hard to expand access to telehealth services in Spanish across the country. None of us who grew up in bilingual families are strangers to playing interpreter for our parents, especially when it came to their health care visits — and we know some of you are struggling to do that via phone for your parents now. But for those of you who don’t speak English and don’t have a friend who can play interpreter for you, we want to make sure you can access health care from Planned Parenthood without that hurdle, especially when it comes to something as private as your sexual health care.

We also know not everyone in our community has access to broadband internet or Wi-Fi. That’s why some of the services Planned Parenthood provides via telehealth will also be provided by phone with a bilingual staff member who can perform or support your visit, or through interpretation agencies that can be added to your visit. We also know some care requires in-person visits and that confidentiality for these kinds of conversations is required and can be difficult to achieve in a home with your abuela cooking in the next room or a niece or nephew popping into the room without any warning. We are working hard to keep all options available, including in-person visits, for people who need or prefer to go to a health center.

If it’s not a service but information you need about what to consider when having sex during the pandemic, we have resources available for you. In English, we also have new information on how COVID-19 affects your sex life available on Roo — Planned Parenthood’s sexual health chatbot — and our popular Chat/Text program. Our community has less access to accurate sex-ed and we experience higher STI contraction rates in particular. Now is not the time to be shy or to put any part of your health at risk. Planned Parenthood has answers.

 As the spread of COVID-19 continues to ravage our community, and you are all hustling to work and to stay healthy, we want your sexual and reproductive health care to be the last thing you worry about. Planned Parenthood is here with you like we’ve always been.