During this COVID-19 pandemic overdose death in the U.S.A. have hit new highs. Expert is suggesting for ensuring safe injection sites which may establish a better way to help people with opioid addiction.
The safe injection sites method is an effective way that has been used in Canada for years. It is a place where people would be allowed to use opioids without facing arrest. It is a way to keep people using drugs safely. Through this process, the authority can reach them easily so that they can get in contact with available services.
New data showed that the opioid crisis costs about $78.5 billion in the United States per year. According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), over 97,000 deaths through April 2021. The Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra in the U.S.A. explained about the new overdose prevention program.
Becerra said, “Our new strategy focuses on people — putting the very individuals who have struggled with addiction in positions of power.” The statement also stated, “And thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we can address what so many people have seen in recent years: a rise in overdoses that can risk a person’s life — and affect their entire family.”
The CEO of University Hospital in Newark Dr. Shereef Elnahal said, “We were making progress in 2018 and the first half of 2019 with the epidemic of opioid addiction, unfortunately, the pandemic of COVID-19 flipped that on its head and we find ourselves behind where we were before.”