A Mayo Clinic expert weighs in on the impact of the opioid crisis during the pandemic.
Statewide./// the pandemic is creating new challenges for combatting the ongoing opioid crisis.
Kimt news 3's annalise johnson is speaking to a mayo clinic expert.
She joins us live.
Annalise?
Calyn ?
"* george ?
"* the opio pandemic here in rochester and across the country has not gone away during the pandemic... in some ways ?
"* it's actually gotten worse.
Because clinics including mayo temporarily stopped some services in order to care for covid?
"*19 patients ?
"* this people with a lack of legitimate pain management.
Some are turning to opioids ?
*- or even street drugs.
Some of the opioids may have been prescribed by a doctor to a patient for a legitimate health reason ?
"* but fell into the wrong hands.
Dr. halena gazelka ?
"* chair of the mayo clinic opioid stewardship program says this lack of access to medical care has been a major issue during the pandemic.xxx when patients did not have access to those procedures, when we reopened our doors here in may, we had a backlog of hundreds and hundreds of patients on lists waiting to get procedures that we perform for them regularly to help relieve their pain and help them avoid the use of opioids.
For people already battling addiction ?
"* the pandemic may have cut off their access to their usual drug dealer ?
"* leading them to use new dealers and unfamiliar drugs... many of these are laced with fentanyl ?
"* which can be deadly.
Live in rochester ?
"* annalise, johnso, kimt thank you annalise.
In april ?*- research led by mayo clinic found that more than half of americans starting the most highly regulated opioids might
With the overdose rate increasing in New Jersey during the pandemic, that state is taking action. For the next few days, residents..
