Addicts and Those with Substance Use Disorders (Bella Bankstahl)
Fact-Checked Source: Nicole Sganga, "How the Coronavirus is Hurting Drug and Alcohol Recovery"
On April 2,2020, the CBS News website campaign writer Nicole Sganga spoke out about the unequal effects of COVID-19 on the Substance Use Disorder/Addiction community compared to other communities of individuals. CBS News Article Link.Looking Deeper: Five Facts Checked
In order to better understand the claims made in this op-ed, I've done research to verify five facts it presents about the corona virus pandemic.This fact matters because individuals with a substance use disorder/addiction are at an extreme risk for contracting the virus due to compromised immune systems and weakened bodies. Due to addiction, their body has an overall weak immune system, destroyed internal organs, damaged hearts, high blood pressure, and possible lung, kidney, and liver damage. COVID-19 attacks by infecting the inner lining of the lungs and then spreading from the upper to the lower respiratory track. Substance use disorder individuals' bodies cannot fight off the virus as well as healthy individuals. According to a recently published article on CBS News and the website for the Addiction Center, this fact is true, and it's supported by NIDA, an official government website.Many suffering from addiction also possess co-morbid physical conditions; reduced breathing, a lower oxygen level and suppressed immunity are all likely symptoms in opioid-addicted individuals.
I wanted to look into this claim because not only are we undergoing a corona virus pandemic but also the ongoing opioid pandemic. Dr. Nora Volkow stated that overdose rates are rising in this community because the hospitals do not want these individuals in the waiting/hospital rooms taking up space, so they send them home with methadone. The federal government guidelines have been lax during the pandemic with instructions to assess stability of the patient and send them off with take home medication. This is a problem because prior history matters, and some individuals who have a substance use disorder cannot receive methadone or need a limited amount. Giving away these medications to these individuals has only caused more problems and deaths that add to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a statement made by Dr. Volkow from the National Institute of Drug abuse in the CBS news website article proven by the CDC opioid overdose article.Nothing is quite as rapid in the age of COVID-19. That means the chances of overdose are rising. "We already have heard that some patients have overdosed from the methadone because they were not ready to take home these medications," she added, referring to the other assisted treatments.
We might expect that the health of individuals with addiction is the only thing at risk during this time, but that's wrong. Individuals with addiction history are at an increase risk of contracting many illnesses due to limited access to health care. These individuals are already stigmatized, so hospitals are more likely to push these individuals away and give them limited treatment. These individuals also are mostly homeless or incarcerated which lead to environments that increase the spread of disease risk. They also lack access to support, clinics, and proper medication during this time. According to John Burns director of SOS recovery center and the National Institute of Drug Abuse, this fact is concerning.The closure of residential programs is particularly hard on recovering addicts faced with the elements and nowhere else to go.
This claim is important because individuals with a substance disorder need rehab, support groups, and detox centers to remain open in order to succeed in remaining sober and not getting the virus due to lack of social distancing. Many of the individuals that come to the detox centers are turned away and have no where to go because a majority of this community is incarcerated or homeless. Turns out that this fact was not consistent across all detox centers according to Lakeview Health Addiction and Recovery Treatment.No one is paying attention to the fact that if you're homeless, you once had a recovery center. You might have had a public library or community center to go to. You can't go into quarantine when you're living in a tent," Burns says. "There's also a lot of real concern – some residential detox centers stopped accepting new patients."
This fact matters because recovered individuals from addiction may be reverting back to old habits during this pandemic which would exacerbate the opioid crisis. The article mentions a woman named Ashley Drew who had a heroin addiction and is four years sober/clean. She talks about how this pandemic has caused her to relive some of those past memories. She says that her life is now completely different, and it feels like she is in her early stages of recovery. The isolation and hopelessness of this pandemic and quarantine has caused people who have used drugs to revert back to old ways hence contributing to the opioid crisis. This was a statement made by Dr. Volkow in a CBS news article that appears to be true by the website STAT."The opioid epidemic in our country basically grew out of hopelessness and isolation," Volkow added. "And to the extent that the pandemic is going to exacerbate the economic and social situation of certain people, this could increase the risk of people turning to drugs."
Analytic Essay
Addicts Neglected and Mistreated During a Fatal, Deadly Virus
COVID-19 is a new virus that has caused a pandemic which has overwhelmed researchers and exhausted medical professionals. The news and media outlets speak of the deadliness of corona virus and the potential dangers it could cause in pregnant women and the elderly, but it fails to account for the 19.7 million addicts primarily those who use and abuse substances like opioids and marijuana who are at extreme risk. This community of individuals have bodies that have been deteriorated and destroyed due to substance use over the years which makes them highly susceptible to viruses.Unfortunately, researchers aren’t focusing on this community of individuals and how the virus would affect their bodies and longevity. This community is marginalized by society and are considered to be low socioeconomic class. From the perspective of individuals with substance use disorders, COVID-19 has the ability to wipe out their entire community due to their weakened bodies, past history with substances, and society's mistreatment and neglect. This pandemic has caused many addicts to undergo additional stress and anxiety, limited access to health care, and early deaths. If no attention is given to this community of marginalized individuals, then they face possible early deaths, lack of rehab and detox centers, and limited access to necessary medications. This community faces sudden death because their bodies are deteriorated and vulnerable shown when Hayley Hudson states,
Illicit drug use can quickly deteriorate the body. Long term methamphetamine use causes lung, liver, and kidney damage, damage to blood vessels in the heart and brain, malnutrition, tooth decay, respiratory problems if smoked, and infectious diseases and abscesses if injected (Hudson 2020).Individuals with substance use disorders are at a high risk of contracting the deadly corona virus due to their current physical state. The CDC is concerned that this particular community will undergo more stress than the average individual. About 19.7 million people in this world 12 years or older are addicts, and those who use and abuse substances like opioids, alcohol, and marijuana struggle to survive during this pandemic. This virus has the opportunity to wipe out a large number of people in this world’s population.
These individuals value their lives and survival during this pandemic. To survive, they need access to rehab facilities, medications, health care, housing, and support groups, but this pandemic has limited their access to all of this. For example, inpatient rehabilitation is super crucial in many individual’s recovery shown when the Addiction Center states,
“These programs offer an opportunity for the addict to be removed from their daily life where they have access to substances and focus fully on their recovery. A benefit of these programs is that patients have full time care and a community of recovery around them, but during COVID-19, some people may be afraid of transmitting or becoming infected with the disease” (Hudson 2020).Addicts need access to rehabilitation centers, in and out patient care, medications, and support group meetings, but this community is struggling to get all the health care they need. Addicts are being restrained from receiving the proper health care they need to survive with their life illness which is a huge problem. Their goal is to get society to notice this marginalized community and get others to reach out to help them during this time; additionally, the community needs more access and health care options when trying to get medicine, rehabilitation, and patient care.
This community’s intended audience is the researchers and health care workers currently working hands on during this pandemic. They reach them by speaking out through elected government officials and advocates in the community of medicine. Dr. Nora Volkow, the director from the national institute of drug abuse, speaks up for this community stating,
“Social isolation does not just contribute to the epidemic of addiction, but it also increases the likelihood that people take drugs” (Sganga 2020).
The director speaks up about how this virus has caused an increase in relapsing and overdosing of addicts, and the taking of drugs of individuals and health professionals everywhere. Mental health is severely, negatively affected during this time for all, but it’s especially important that officials draw attention to the community of addicts suffering additional physical pain.
This community is reaching out for researchers to focus some studies and attention during this pandemic on them because their weakened immune systems and deteriorated internal organs cause the virus to attack their bodies more vigorously. They want data, statistics, and information on how this virus specifically works and attacks their bodies. They’d want to know what our government is doing for them or not doing such as when stated,
“We already have heard that some patients have overdosed from the methadone because they were not ready to take home these medications” (Sganga 2020).This is something Volkow, from NIDA, stated to CBS news, which this community would want to know before thinking of seeking treatment in hospitals and what to take. For this community, these individuals need to know what the federal government is doing for them and how their treatment is being advised.
Those with substance use disorders need special medications and access to centers and specialists that most others lack the necessity of. NIDA stated that,
“Limited access to health care places people with addiction at greater risk for many illnesses, but if hospitals and clinics are pushed to their capacity, it could be that people with addiction—who are already stigmatized and undeserved by the healthcare system—will experience even greater barriers to treatment for COVID-19” (NIDA 2020).Due to the stigmatization of this community, these individuals are at risk for increased fatality due to their access to health care being cut off for those of higher socioeconomic class. This community is going to distrust hospital employees and medical professionals because of this disturbing fact which may lead to them not wanting to come into the hospitals to seek care when they actually need it. Unfortunately, there’s not much these individuals can do about the stigmatization during this pandemic, so they don't know who to trust or fear when receiving proper care. This community comes into conflict with all of society, especially medical professionals and the upper socioeconomic class. It’s hard for this community to trust the professionals who refuse them care during a double pandemic.
This perspective is important because these addicts face extreme danger from the corona virus physically and mentally. The corona virus targets the respiratory system which is already damaged in the bodies of these individuals which is why it is important they get health care immediately and as much access as healthier individuals. The problem is these individuals are highly stigmatized and marginalized.The CDC and even NIDA are worried about the massive amount of fatalities this community will face and how the stress of this pandemic may even cause these individuals to relapse or overdose. This increase in relapses due to the virus may only exacerbate the opioid crisis happening currently. This is why it's important because we currently have two pandemics ongoing, and these individuals caught in the crossfire are extremely vulnerable.