Open AccessCalls for Access to Safe Injecting Supplies as a Critical Public Health Measure During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Author(s) -
Koharu Loulou Chayama,
Cara Ng,
Ryan McNeil
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of addiction medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.264
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1935-3227
pISSN - 1932-0620
DOI - 10.1097/adm.0000000000000712
Subject(s) - syringe , medicine , harm reduction , pandemic , harm , enforcement , transmission (telecommunications) , public health , law enforcement , covid-19 , environmental health , medical emergency , nursing , law , political science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease , electrical engineering , pathology , psychiatry , engineering
: More than 3 decades of research has provided compelling evidence regarding the effectiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness of needle and syringe programs in reducing syringe-sharing and transmission of HIV, HCV, and other bloodborne infections. However, repressive drug policies and drug law enforcement practices around the world continue to undermine their operations and scale-up, as well as access to harm reduction among people who inject drugs. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened access barriers to needle and syringe programs, raising concerns about unsafe injecting practices due to inadequate access to safe injecting supplies. This commentary discusses the robust public health responses that are needed at this particularly vulnerable and critical juncture to ensure access to safe injecting supplies and minimize the risk for transmission of bloodborne infections among people who inject drugs.