CHECK Ost #1

CORONA
SEX DURING CORONA
ENGLISH
The coronavirus is mainly transmitted
through droplets. This means that even coughing,
breathing on, sneezing or speaking can lead to
an infection. Therefore, caution should be
exercised, especially during sex.
We asked Dr. med. Christoph Spinner, senior physician
and pandemic officer at the Klinikum rechts der Isar.
Hello Dr. Spinner,
Corona has had
a firm grip on us
for over a year now.
Unfortunately also on our
sex life. What is your advice to
sexually active men?
Above all, to stay calm. Sex is and will remain
a basic need even in the pandemic. Everyone
has to decide for themselves how much risk
they should take with regard to sexually transmitted
infections, HIV or Covid-19. For social
and psychological reasons in particular, it is
important not to completely withdraw from
your social and sexual lives.
How can we best protect ourselves from
Corona during sex?
Sex is an intimate endeavor – and that‘s a good
thing. Therefore, you cannot completely protect
yourself against a SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
Nevertheless, the risk can be minimized
by avoiding contact while you or your partner
have symptoms of Covid-19 or while there has
been a risk of infection in the last 14 days.
It is also worthwhile to speak openly about
Covid-19 with your sexual partner. And of
course it is best to get vaccinated against
Covid-19 as soon as possible.
If we are all vaccinated, will the road be clear
again for a more free sex life?
The vaccination reduces both the risk of
SARS-CoV-2 transmission and the risk of
severe disease. The aim is to achieve herd
immunity, i.e. vaccinating over 70% of the
population. Yet even with this we will not be
able to immediately drop all the other pandemic
control measures. But the faster and the
more people are vaccinated, the faster it will
be possible to return to the usual ”normality“.
In Berlin and Cologne we spoke to a number
of practices focusing on HIV at the beginning
of the pandemic. Contrary to expectations, the
numbers of STI infections have gone up. What
is the situation in Munich like?
Throughout the pandemic, we have tried to
maintain diagnostics and therapy offers for
STI, PrEP and HIV. We have also observed
that the number of infections with STIs has
remained stable. This fact also shows how
important sexual health and medical offers
are, especially in the pandemic. In my opinion,
dealing with Covid-19 in a destigmatizing way
is just as important as it is with HIV. The two
pandemics have a lot in common on this point.
(ts,mb)
Klinikum rechts der Isar
Technische Universität München
Ismaninger Str. 22
81675 München
www.mri.tum.de
CHECK OST #1
45