COVID ‘breakthrough’ more likely among people with drug and alcohol use problems | Health Info

By Robert Preidt, Health Day reporter

WEDNESDAY, October 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) – Drug and alcohol abuse increases the risk of COVID-19 infection as well as serious illness and death in fully vaccinated people, according to a new study.

“First and foremost, vaccination is very effective for people with substance use disorders, and the overall risk of COVID-19 in vaccinated people with substance use disorders is very low, ”said study co-author Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the US National. Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a press release from the institute.

She said it is important to encourage people with drug and alcohol problems to get vaccinated and to recognize that even after doing so, they have a higher risk of SARS-CoV infection. 2 and must take measures to protect themselves.

For the study, the researchers analyzed the electronic health records of nearly 580,000 people in the United States who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 between December 1, 2020 and August 14, 2021, and who never had had COVID before.

Seven percent of those with drug or alcohol problems have had breakthrough infections, compared to 3.6% of those without substance use problems.

Infection rates ranged from 6.8% for smokers to 7.8% for people with cannabis use disorders.

Among people with substance use disorders who had a breakthrough infection, 22.5% were hospitalized and 1.7% died, according to the study. The rates were 1.6% and 0.5%, respectively, in people with drug and alcohol problems but without a breakthrough infection.

The researchers also found that the risk of serious outcomes after a breakthrough infection was higher in patients with substance use disorders than in others.

The increased risk of major infections in people with substance use disorders appears to be due in large part to coexisting health problems and poor health linked to poverty, according to results released on October 6 in the newspaper. Global Psychiatry.

“From previous studies, we knew that people with substance use disorders may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 and severe side effects,” said study co-author Rong. Xu, director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery at Case Western Reserve University. in Cleveland.

“These results underscore that although the vaccine is essential and effective, some of the same risk factors still apply to breakthrough infections,” Xu said in the statement.

SOURCE: US National Institute on Drug Abuse, press release, October 6, 2021

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