People with substance use disorders may be at increased risk of breakthrough COVID-19

Washington — The risk of breakthrough COVID-19 infection can be increased among vaccinated patients with substance use disorders. New research Discovered by the National Institutes of Health.

Researchers who conducted the study, published Wednesday at World Psychiatry, analyzed electronic health records of approximately 580,000 fully vaccinated people in the United States, with or without substance use disorders. bottom.

Data obtained between December 1, 2020 and August 14, 2021 show that vaccinated patients with substance use disorders have an overall low risk of COVID-19 breakthrough infection, but substance use It was higher than the risk of non-disabled vaccinated people.

Related: A breakthrough case for COVID-19: What are they?

For example, 7% of people vaccinated with substance use disorder developed breakthrough infections during the study, compared to 3.6% of people vaccinated without substance use disorder. The risk of breakthrough infections varied slightly among people with substance use disorders, ranging from 6.8% of people with tobacco use disorders to 7.8% of people with cannabis use disorders.

The study found that co-occurring health conditions and adverse socio-economic determinants of health, common in people with substance use disorders, appear to be the major contributors to increased risk. ..

People with substance use disorders such as alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, opioids, and tobacco use disorders also have a higher rate of serious outcomes such as hospitalization and death after a breakthrough infection.

“First and foremost, vaccination is very effective for people with substance use disorders, and the overall risk of COVID-19 among people vaccinated with substance use disorders is very low. “.” Said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of NIDA, one of the lead authors of the study. “We need to encourage and continue to promote COVID-19 vaccination among people with substance use disorders. Also, after vaccination, this group is at high risk and will take protective measures against COVID-19. We must admit that we need to continue. “

Related: CDC: Less than 1% of breakthrough COVID-19 cases led to hospitalization or death

Previous studies conducted early in the coronavirus pandemic found that people with substance use disorders were at increased risk of COVID-19 infection and were at increased risk of serious illness and death.

That study, Published in “Nature”“We found that older people with substance abuse disorders were at a particularly high risk compared to adults and African Americans with substance abuse disorders when compared to Caucasians.

“Previous studies have shown that people with substance use disorders may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 and its associated serious consequences. These results show that vaccines are essential. While effective, it emphasizes that some of these same risk factors still apply to breakthrough infections. ” Dr. Rong Xu, a professor at the Artificial Intelligence Center in Drug Discovery at CaseWesternReserve University, said. “It is important to continuously assess the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine and the long-term effects of COVID-19, especially among people with substance use disorders.”

A breakthrough case is when a fully vaccinated person becomes infected with the coronavirus. Breakthrough cases have become more common as highly contagious delta mutants have spread, but the COVID-19 vaccine has proven to be highly protective and effective against hospitalization and death. It has been.

Related: Wendy Williams tested positive for “breakthrough” cases of COVID-19

The COVID-19 vaccine works by teaching the body to recognize the new coronavirus. If a person is exposed to it after vaccination, their immune system should be ready to take action and fight it. If you get sick after being vaccinated, experts say injections are very good at reducing the severity of the illness.

In the study, a double dose of COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer and Moderna was about 95% effective in preventing disease, and a single dose of Johnson & Johnson was 72% effective, but a direct comparison should be made. Is difficult. Therefore, vaccines are very good at protecting us from viruses, but they can still get mild or no symptoms or get sick.

Still, if you get sick after being vaccinated, experts say injections are very good at reducing the severity of the illness.

Most people with breakthrough infections experience mild illness, said Dr. William Moss, a vaccine expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.