{"id":17342,"date":"2026-02-09T12:10:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T17:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=17342"},"modified":"2026-02-10T17:56:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T22:56:37","slug":"love-safely-this-valentines-day","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/love-safely-this-valentines-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Love Safely This Valentine\u2019s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>February 9, 2026<br \/>\n<strong>Media Contact: <\/strong>Dr. Zelalem Attlee, <u><a href=\"mailto:Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov\">Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Love Safely This Valentine\u2019s Day<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>Get Free Condoms from the Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District<\/em><\/p>\n<p>WARRENTON, Va. \u2013 It\u2019s no coincidence that Valentine\u2019s Day is also National Condom Day! One of the simplest ways to show you care is to protect the health of those you love. The Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District provides free condoms to support safer and healthier sexual relationships.<\/p>\n<p>Valentine\u2019s Day is often associated with flowers, chocolates, and dinner dates. The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District reminds you that protection should also be part of the plan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cValentine\u2019s Day is a time to celebrate connection and care,\u201d said Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District Director J. Carr, M.D. \u201cLoving safely means protecting yourself and your partner, and free condoms are one simple way to support healthy relationships and prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) remain a serious public health concern in Virginia.\u00a0 More than 54,000 <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/Virginina-2024-Sexually-Transmitted-Infection-Surveillance-Report.pdf\">STIs were reported in Virginia in 2024<\/a><\/u>.\u00a0 The increase in syphilis diagnoses among women is of particular concern. The rate of newly diagnosed syphilis cases among women <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/Syphilis-VA-STI-Report-2024.pdf\">increased 144%<\/a> from 2020 to 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Cases of <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/syphilis\/about\/about-congenital-syphilis.html\">congenital syphilis<\/a><\/u>, when a pregnant person passes syphilis to a baby during pregnancy or childbirth, increased for the fifth straight year in Virginia. In 2024, <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/Congenital-Syphilis-VA-STI-Report-2024-Accessible.pdf\">35 cases of congenital syphilis<\/a><\/u>\u00a0were reported among newly born infants, the highest case count observed in more than 30 years in Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>Because many STIs, including syphilis, often show no <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/sti\/about\/index.html#cdc_disease_basics_symptoms-signs-and-symptoms\">symptoms<\/a><\/u>, you can spread them without knowing it. Using condoms consistently and correctly is an effective way to reduce the risk of STIs and unintended pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p>The Virginia Department of Health distributes condoms statewide through its <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/disease-prevention\/partneragencies\/\">Condom Distribution Program<\/a><\/u>, which is designed to reduce HIV and other STIs through free access to protection.<\/p>\n<p>Free condoms are available at the Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District and through community partner organizations.\u00a0You can contact the Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District at <u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rrhd.org\">www.rrhd.org<\/a><\/u>\u00a0to locate free condoms nearby.<\/p>\n<p>Organizations interested in becoming distribution sites should contact the HIV-STD Hotline Supervisor at <u><a href=\"mailto:HIV-stdhotline@vdh.virginia.gov\">HIV-stdhotline@vdh.virginia.gov<\/a><\/u>. Participating organizations may order up to 100,000 condoms per year.<\/p>\n<p>The Rappahannock-Rapidan\u00a0Health District can also help you decide if medicine to prevent HIV (<u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/disease-prevention\/prep-and-npep\/\">PrEP<\/a><\/u>) or STIs (<u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/220\/2024\/02\/DoxyPEP-Factsheet-for-Patients.pdf\">DoxyPEP<\/a><\/u>) is right for you.<\/p>\n<p>Make this Valentine\u2019s Day a night to remember, not a diagnosis you want to forget.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"># # #<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>February 9, 2026 Media Contact: Dr. Zelalem Attlee, Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov. Love Safely This Valentine\u2019s Day Get Free Condoms from the Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District WARRENTON, Va. \u2013 It\u2019s no coincidence that Valentine\u2019s Day is also National Condom Day! One of the simplest ways to show you care is to protect the health of those you love. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":444,"featured_media":0,"parent":16853,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[1512,239,495,496,1514,1513],"class_list":["post-17342","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-condoms","tag-hiv","tag-sexually-transmitted-infections","tag-stis","tag-symphilis","tag-valentines-day"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Love Safely This Valentine\u2019s Day - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/love-safely-this-valentines-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Love Safely This Valentine\u2019s Day - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"February 9, 2026 Media Contact: Dr. Zelalem Attlee, Zelalem.Attlee@vdh.virginia.gov. 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