Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) is offering monthly free walk-in STI testing clinics at all 13 health centers statewide.
PPIL’s walk-in clinic is scheduled for the second Wednesday of every month beginning Sept. 10. Last year, PPIL offered nearly 100,000 STI tests across Illinois. Appointments are available at www.PPIL.org or by calling 877-200-7745.
“STIs are incredibly common, and so testing is imperative to ensuring a healthy lifestyle” said PPIL Vice President of Patient Services Emily Glover. “Offering a free monthly walk-in clinic gives people the security of knowing we’re there for them. It’s also a chance for people to meet our health center staff and become comfortable with all of the care and services PPIL provides including birth control, gender-affirming care, HIV treatment and prevention, and more.”
And PPIL is expanding its HIV prevention offerings to include the new FDA-approved, long-lasting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The new medication, Yeztugo, is an injection given once every six months and is recommended for anyone who is unaware of their partner’s HIV status or has a partner who is HIV-positive; does not always use condoms; had an STI in the last six months; or shares needles.
Yeztugo is for people who are HIV-negative, and injections are administered by trained clinicians. PrEP works by blocking a key protein HIV needs to replicate.