Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) launched its Don’t Guess, Get a Test awareness campaign to encourage residents – especially ages 18-24 – to get tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea, the two most common STDs. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 26 million new STD cases in the U.S. per year. One in 5 Americans are estimated to have an STD. In the past 10 years, chlamydia cases have increased nationally by 16 percent and gonorrhea cases have almost doubled. Half of all new infections in suburban Cook County are in people ages 18 to 24 years old. CCDPH has made it easy for residents to order a home test kit or find an in-person testing site near them. 

• Free chlamydia and gonorrhea home test kits are available to suburban Cook County residents ages 18 and older by visiting dontguessgetatest.com/mail order or Prairie State College, 202 S. Halsted St. (Meeting Room 1315) in Chicago Heights, open Tuesdays from 11 a.m. -2:30 p.m., from now through November 2023.

• In-person testing sites are listed at: https://cookcountypublichealth.org/communicable-diseases/sexually-transmitted-diseases/get-tested-get-treated/testing-sites-in-cook-county/ or by entering your Zip code in the CDC STD Testing Site locator.