Condoms aren’t a fact of life for young Americans. They’re an afterthought

Fewer young people are having sex, but the teens and young adults who are sexually active aren't using condoms as regularly.

People ages 15 to 24 made up half of new chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis cases in 2022 .

Public health experts are thinking about how to help younger generations have safe sex.

A new drug on the market could mean even more STI prevention options for men and possibly women.

Doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, or doxy PEP , can be taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex and can help prevent chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis .

Condom use now is “pretty much a thing of the past” for men who have sex with men compared to the 1980s and early 1990s during the AIDS epidemic.

Mississippi has the highest teen birth rate in the country.

Less than half of states require information on contraception.

Oregon has extensive state standards that require all public school districts to teach comprehensive sexual education.

Students in Portland are shown how to put on a condom on a wooden model of a penis starting in middle school and have access to free condoms at most high schools.