Virginia Disease Prevention Facebook Page
Thank you for visiting the Virginia Disease Prevention Hotline (DPH) Facebook page. The DPH uses social media to provide information and resources to Virginia residents and others who may visit our page.
The DPH provides information related to HIV, STDS, and viral hepatitis. If you have questions related to these topics, you may contact the hotline at (800) 533-4148 or at hiv-stdhotline@vdh.virginia.gov. The DPH has staff available Monday through Friday from 8 am until 5 pm EST and is closed for Virginia state holidays. During hours when the DPH is closed, a recorded message refers callers to an alternate 24-hour hotline.
Using Email and Chat
When contacting the DPH through Facebook messenger or email, do not send personally identifying information or personal health information. Please only provide your first name and a contact number. You may also provide a time that is best for a staff member to reach you during normal business hours: Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm EST.
Disclaimer & Comment Policy
Posted comments and images do not necessarily represent the views of the VDH. External, non-DPH links on this site do not constitute official endorsement on behalf of the VDH or the DPH. While comments and opinions are encouraged on posts and links on the DPH page, we expect that this will be done in a respectful manner.
The DPH does not agree with or endorse every comment that individuals post on this page. Our goal is to share educational information and ideas with as many individuals as possible and our policy is to accept the majority of comments made to our profile.
Therefore, the DPH reserves the right to delete a comment if it contains:
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- Vulgar, offensive, abusive, threatening, or harassing images and/or language; this includes creative spellings of swear words using asterisks or spaces between words;
- Sexually inappropriate images, language, and/or links to similar content;
- Comments that promote, foster or perpetuate discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation;
- Comments that are scientifically incorrect and/or misleading;
- Comments whose main purpose are to sell or promote a product;
- Comments that infringe on copyrights;
- Comments that promote or oppose any person campaigning for election to a political office or that promote or oppose any ballot measure;
- Comments where other individuals are tagged for inappropriate purposes;
- Spam comments, such as the same comment posted repeatedly on a profile; and
- Other comments that the DPH staff deem inappropriate.
All links posted as comments on the DPH page or posts will be reviewed and may be subject to deletion.
Repeated violations or serious violations of the DPH comment policy may cause the author to be banned from the DPH Facebook page.
We understand that social media is a 24/7 medium; however, our moderation capabilities are not. We may not see every inappropriate comment right away, and we are trusting in the maturity of our community to ignore personal attacks and negative speech or respond politely.
Please contact hiv-stdhotline@vdh.virginia.gov if you have any questions.
Public Record
The DPH must follow the Virginia Public Records Act as part of their official responsibilities. Any posts, comments, and interactions on the DPH Facebook page are all considered public record and may be recorded and archived. Any users that send private messages to the DPH Facebook page may have their identity redacted to protect their identity in public records. To read more about the Virginia Public Records Act, please visit: https://www.lva.virginia.gov/agencies/records/documents/vpra.pdf.