As if we don’t have enough problems
Monday, May 11, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Oy…
More here.
* And this is from the BGA…
Government-funded needle exchange programs — such as the Community Outreach Intervention Projects’ storefront that serves Galorath — have cut services and closed exchange sites due to staff shortages and safety concerns as the virus sweeps the nation, so far killing more than 70,000 in the U.S.
In fact, the amount of needles exchanged by the Chicago program in March plummeted by more than 78% from the year before. It has left hundreds of high-risk users to fend for themselves — more likely to reuse or share needles and unable to get the help on which they have come to rely. […]
Staff reductions at COIP prompted it to close two storefront locations, in South Chicago and Humboldt Park, and reduce hours at three other storefronts, while also halting daily mobile efforts on the South and West sides. The Chicago Recovery Alliance, a mobile needle exchange and delivery operation, cut visits to two of its less-frequented sites and stopped providing supplies to another exchange in Edgewater, which also closed.
The programs — which together supply more than four million clean needles every year to the more than 10,000 injection drug users in the Chicago area — reported significant declines in the number of people the exchanges have served so far during the pandemic.
- Seats - Monday, May 11, 20 @ 9:43 am:
I’m not surprised. We ended up getting out 2 year old their Hep vaccination shot, but we rescheduled over concerns of taking them into a hospital.
I imagine there are a lot of people who just don’t feel its worth the exposure right now to get those shots. Glad we did, but it was a stressful decision when otherwise we would never want to miss a Vax appointment.
- AP - Monday, May 11, 20 @ 10:21 am:
I gathered this isn’t happeninh everywhere around the country or in the state but at least in Champaign county preventative care was canceled for most of March all of April and only just now started opening up. My son’s vaccine appointment was put off by 6 weeks because of this.
You can’t keep up with vaccinations if you’re not allowed to see your doctor.
- RNUG - Monday, May 11, 20 @ 11:17 am:
Lots of preventative procedures were postponed. I’ve delayed one procedure. A friend who has sheltered better than most of us fell and hurt her wrist; she delayed going to the ER for days and finally did for what turned out to be a fractured wrist.
No one wants to go into a potentially infected zone.
- @misterjayem - Monday, May 11, 20 @ 1:17 pm:
“No one wants to go into a potentially infected zone.”
I don’t think my toddling nephew has missed any vaccinations, but I know he’s not allowed to ram around outside like he would be if going to the doctor for stitches wasn’t as dire as it is now.
– MrJM
- Seats - Monday, May 11, 20 @ 1:26 pm:
We waited in the car and waited for a text msg to come into the office. Much better than being in the waiting room. Hope they keep that option moving forward.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Monday, May 11, 20 @ 3:34 pm:
=== but we rescheduled over concerns of taking them into a hospital.===
The last several vaccinations I got were at Jewel Osco.
- Titan - Monday, May 11, 20 @ 7:37 pm:
I am a colon cancer survivor (of 12 years now), my periodic follow up scope got put off (I’m guessing it will end up 8 to 16 months late)