The New York City Department of Health wants the next few months to be a #hotvaxsummer just as much as everyone else. In a new, colorful advisory released today, health officials tout the covid-19 vaccines as the best way to avoid catching covid-19 while getting up close and personal with others. And while everyone should get vaccinated, those who attend sex parties should definitely do so as soon as possible, according to the new guidance.
The orgy tip is one of many updates made today to the NYDOH’s guidelines on safer sex during the pandemic. Last June, their guidelines made waves for the endorsement of creative sexual positions and “physical barriers, like walls, that allow sexual contact while preventing close face to face contact”—language that everyone quickly took as an approving nod to the time-honored porn staple, the glory hole.
When Gizmodo asked last summer if New York City had officially adopted the glory hole as its new mascot, Demetre Daskalakis, then-Deputy Commissioner for Disease Control and Incident Commander for the Health Department’s COVID-19 response, simply responded: “We trust our audience and New Yorkers are creative enough to know what this means.”
Compared to that, an endorsement of pre-sex vaccination is relatively tame. But the new guidelines still go out of their way to address the horniest of NYC residents, saying that it’s especially important for people to get vaccinated if you “attend sex parties or get-togethers with large groups; have group sex, multiple sex partners or sex with people you do not know.” They also call for people who engage in sex work to get vaccinated as well.
Thankfully, New York is already in relatively good shape vaccination-wise. According to state data, 52% of all residents are fully vaccinated, while 71% of those over 18 are at least partially vaccinated. Cases, hospitalizations, and deaths attributed to covid-19 have accordingly dropped to the lowest levels seen since the pandemic began to emerge in March 2020—a far cry from the first wave that killed upwards of 20,000 people in New York City alone. More than 53,000 residents have died from the pandemic in total.
For those unwilling or unable to get vaccinated, the guidelines continue to include tips such as getting tested for covid-19 before sex (keeping in mind that they can only detect infections at the time of the test and aren’t foolproof), having sex with limited partners, and using creative positions and physical barriers to avoid face-to-face contact. And for those still insisting on going to an orgy unvaccinated, the health department recommends that these people at least choose “larger, more open and well-ventilated spaces,” use plenty of hand sanitizer, wear masks, and avoid kissing.