REMARKS
Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez opens committee meeting on Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing expansion
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149 sec
Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez advocates for Intro 435, a bill to expand rapid STI testing access in New York City, focusing on communities most impacted by racial inequities in infection rates.
- Sanchez highlights that Black and Latinx people account for over 80% of new HIV infections in NYC in 2022.
- The Bronx has the highest HIV infection and death rates across New York State's 62 counties.
- Studies show less sexual risk behavior among Black and Latino Americans, indicating inequities are due to lack of access to education, testing, and care.
- Intro 435 aims to invest in expanding access to rapid STI testing, particularly in communities struggling the most.
- Sanchez thanks SYEP interns for attending the committee hearing.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
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Thank you so much, council member, Shulman.
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And the first thing I wanna do is shout out our SYEP intern class 2024, sitting in the back.
Mercedes Narcisse
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I've come over there.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
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I've come over there.
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I
Lynn C. Schulman
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have a lot of I have time in ways involved in Forest Hills High School interns over there.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
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Very excited to have them in here today.
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Thank you so much for for your leadership, council member Shulman, and to members of the LGBTQ plus Cox cas, the women's caucus, BLAC progressive caucus.
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We all did this together working with advocates for over a year to try to have this bill passed.
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And, of course, I wanna thank the the committee staff, Chris Lopez, our suture, Sarah Lease, Andrea Vasquez, and Jeff Baker, for all your support.
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As the chair mentioned, since COVID 19 began, racial inequities in sexually transmitted infection rates have skyrocketed, most hardly impacting New Yorkers at the Intersection of Black Latino Low Income And LGBTQ plus communities.
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In New York City, black and African American people and Latinx people make make up over 80% of new HIV infections in 2022.
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The Bronx in particular suffers from the highest rate of HIV infection and death across New York State 62 Counties.
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The highest rate of chlamydia infections, and the 2nd highest rate of gonorrhea in the 5 boroughs that is not reflected in the kind of access to services that we have And nationally, we have seen Hispanic and Latinx people see a 17% increase in HIV infection rates in recent years.
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But study after study from the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control And Prevention, shows us that there's actually less sexual risk behavior among black and Latino Americans.
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Latinally, we are less likely to have unprotected sex.
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It is white people actually who are having more unprotected sex.
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And so these horrific inequities are only about access, access to education, access to testing, prevention, treatment, and care.
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And that is why intro 435 is so important.
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It represents a major investment in expanding access to rapid STI testing with a dedicated focus on communities that are most impacted and struggling the most.
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And with that, I will conclude because this is a committee hearing and I'm just very excited.
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And so thank you as YEP interns for for being here, and thank you, chair.