LOS ANGELES — PASS will add oral and rectal swabs for chlamydia and gonorrhea to its standard STI testing panel, starting Jan. 1.
PASS announced the addition today through a statement, including FAQs.
The PASS statement reads:
Starting Jan. 1, 2023, PASS will update our testing standard to include oral and rectal swabs for chlamydia and gonorrhea as part of the standard panel to be cleared for work.
What this means:
All talent will be required to receive oral and rectal swabs as part of the standard 14-day testing panel to be cleared in PASS for work
These swabs will be required in addition to the urine test that is already part of the panel.
Why is PASS advising performers to get swab tested?
This decision has been made in consultation with the PASS Board, clinical and public health experts, and at the direction of our recently formed Talent Advisory Board.
There has been a significant increase in reports of bacterial infections amongst adult performers over the last several months of bacterial infections being contracted on sets, despite only working with other tested and cleared talent. PASS’s ongoing survey has found that a significant percentage of performer respondents tested positive for chlamydia and/or gonorrhea in the past 3 months, with many reporting multiple infections in that time frame. On December 11, PASS issued a statement at the end of a 7-day production hold that recommended the inclusion of swabs for oral and rectal chlamydia and gonorrhea in addition to the standard panel. Upon adding swabs to their panels, many performers have found that their swabs tested positive while urine analysis results remain negative. This means that without swabbing, it is possible for performers to be cleared for work, while still able to transmit chlamydia and gonorrhea to others.
Do urine tests catch chlamydia and gonorrhea in the throat and rectum?
No. While it is possible to catch multi-site infections, a urine test alone will not catch infections that are solely in the throat or rectum. The only way to catch these infections is through swabbing these areas. Chlamydia and gonorrhea which is present in the throat and rectum can be passed via oral sex. Chlamydia and gonorrhea can infect your throat only, your genitals only, your rectum only, or all three. It is also possible to transmit to others, or “self-inoculate” other areas of your own body, through infected saliva. We have received a number of reports from talent, regardless of sexuality or gender and who do not participate in anal scenes, receiving positive results on their anal swab.
Is it safe to work without getting swabbed?
There appears to be a heightened risk of contracting bacterial STIs currently in the talent pool. Swabbing will greatly reduce this risk. Chlamydia and gonorrhea are common and curable infections, and are often asymptomatic. However, there have been reports from performers needing additional rounds of antibiotic treatment and more time off work to clear the infection. It is also possible for untreated infections to lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) as a result, a serious complication that can cause permanent damage to the female reproductive organs. PASS does not recommend working without swabs for these reasons.
What is PASS doing to help performers stay safe on sets?
In advance of the Jan. 1 mandate, we are working with our testing partners, MPOWERR, TBD Health, and CLEAR, to figure out how we can best mandate performer swabbing while keeping the cost as low as possible. We hope that testing sites like Cutting Edge Testing and Talent Testing Service will rejoin PASS so that we can effectively monitor infections in the talent pool and promptly pause filming for everyone’s safety. Performers should not have to individually sound alarms and share their test results on Twitter to get help.
Where can I get swab tested, and can I get help with the cost?
PASS testing partners TBD Health, CLEAR, and MPOWERR all have swab testing available currently. Swabs are available at non-PASS affiliated testing centers as well. Swabs may be self-administered at most locations, done very quickly, and are available without advanced notice. Currently, the cost to receive both an oral and rectal swab ranges between $60-$120 depending on the testing location. SWAID Vegas has a performer subsidy fund available for performers who are financially impacted. You can apply here.
For more information, visit PASSCertified.org.