Look I'm just a long time sex educator and not a doctor or public health professional but I'm feeling really grateful that being a sex educator means I am VERY acquainted with the concept and philosophy of harm reduction.

I keep seeing people ask if this or that thing is "safe" when it comes to COVID-19 transmission. And — just as with sex — going out into the world during a pandemic is never *really* going to be 100% safe. No one can guarantee no harm with come to you.

But 100% safe isn't actually what most of us need. We need to dramatically reduce the risk of being infected, and — if we do become infected — reduce the number of people we pass the virus on to.

With sex — and specifically the prevention of something like HIV — we have the ABC model:

Abstince
Be faithful (monogamy)
Condoms

For some people — maybe you, especially if you have a comorbidity — something like the extreme caution of abstinence is the right choice. But for a lot of people, total abstinence isn't sustainable, and can lead to riskier behavior later on.

There's no direct analogy for monogamy or condom use when it comes to COVID-19, but the general principle is the same: if you cannot completely cut yourself off from the world, there are harm reduction steps you can take.

You know these steps: wash your hands regularly, and for twenty seconds. Avoid touching your face. Avoid crowds.

This is going to be hard. It's going to be hard for the expected reasons, and also for unexpected ones: I don't think many of us really understand the full impact of not touching one another, of isolating ourselves, of doing what we need to do to get through this.

But we can get through it. And being kind to one another, and focusing less on being *perfect* and more on being *safer* will be a major part of the kindness we show to ourselves.

Worthwhile point for people who want to know more about harm reduction specifically re: HIV — U and P (being undetectable or on PrEP) are both excellent methods as well. https://twitter.com/TheUnholyDragon/status/1238458434649034753

Popping into this thread two months later to say that, while the underlying philosophy still holds up, March me had a limited understanding of harm reduction strategies for COVID-19. We now know that universal mask use can help, as can keeping one’s distance from others.

Those strategies, along with meeting with people outside rather than inside, are analogous to using condoms to prevent HIV transmission; I’d say restricting your interaction to other members of your household is the monogamy analogue.