Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic • Hacker News Board

Re: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic

#21

Post by commandlinefan » Thu, Jul 02, 2020, 9:56 PM UTC

nxc18 wrote: post #12

drtillberg wrote: post #3

I'm cynical enough at this point to wonder whether the states will add these terrible losses to the COVID-19-related statistics to advocate for stricter and longer lock-downs.

States have been chomping at the bit to end their lockdowns. The fact that cases are spiking again is precisely because states were too eager to end their lockdowns. China had a brutal lockdown early and thanks to that they are now largely back in business. Anti-lockdown sentiment early on is precisely the reason the US has had to prolong its suffering. The reason long lockdowns are happening is because we can’t must…

> had a brutal lockdown early and thanks to that they are now largely back in business

Wait, that doesn't make sense - are you saying that they locked down long enough that everybody who had the virus "lost it" (either by getting healthy or dying)? That doesn't sound very plausible given what we know about epidemiology. The lockdown was sold here as a way to "flatten the curve": everybody who would have gotten it will still get it, but not all at once, so the hospitals won't be overwhelmed. Is anybody claiming that China's lockdown actually eradicated the virus within its borders entirely?

Re: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic

#22

Post by prostoalex » Thu, Jul 02, 2020, 9:57 PM UTC

kukx wrote: post #14

There are more and more reasons to open back the economy. Does it make sense to keep stalling? Most likely some people will avoid the infection this way, but at what cost to others.

From https://www.wsj.com/articles/masks-could-help-stop-coronavir...

> Hong Kong, with 7.5 million residents, is one of the most densely populated places on earth, but recorded only six deaths from Covid-19 despite having no lockdown and receiving nearly 350,000,travelers a day from abroad until authorities started reducing cross-border travel on January 30.

> The key secret of Hong Kong’s success, Prof. Yuen said, is that the mask compliance rate during morning rush hour is 97%. The 3% who don’t comply are mainly Americans and Europeans, he said.

...

> The Czech Republic was the first European country to impose mandatory mask-wearing in some public spaces on March 18, before it recorded the first death by Covid-19. It has since reduced the number of daily new infections to below 50 and has one of the lowest coronavirus death rates in the world.

Re: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic

#23

Post by kukx » Thu, Jul 02, 2020, 9:57 PM UTC

mrow84 wrote: post #7

drtillberg wrote: post #3

I'm cynical enough at this point to wonder whether the states will add these terrible losses to the COVID-19-related statistics to advocate for stricter and longer lock-downs.

What do you think motivates states to want stricter and longer lock-downs?

I guess some vocal voters may actually prefer free money, than going to a tedious work and politicians pander to them.

Re: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic

#24

Post by wolco » Thu, Jul 02, 2020, 9:57 PM UTC

nxc18 wrote: post #12

drtillberg wrote: post #3

I'm cynical enough at this point to wonder whether the states will add these terrible losses to the COVID-19-related statistics to advocate for stricter and longer lock-downs.

States have been chomping at the bit to end their lockdowns. The fact that cases are spiking again is precisely because states were too eager to end their lockdowns. China had a brutal lockdown early and thanks to that they are now largely back in business. Anti-lockdown sentiment early on is precisely the reason the US has had to prolong its suffering. The reason long lockdowns are happening is because we can’t must…

I believe the reason is because it was in the US for much longer than thought. Somewhere summer last year on it started to spread undetected.

Re: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic

#25

Post by starkd » Thu, Jul 02, 2020, 9:58 PM UTC

WilTimSon wrote: post #4

Hardly a surprise, I'm sure suicide rates and alcohol consumption are going up as well. It's a combination of loneliness, lack of supervision (can't find a better word, I mean someone who could help in case of an overdose), despair about the future. This pandemic is unprecedented for the modern people, many don't have the means to deal with it psychologically.

A doom and gloom from the media isn't helping either. It's one thing to provide information, but the endless speculation about "how bad its going to get" is irresponsible.

Re: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic

#26

Post by toiletfuneral » Thu, Jul 02, 2020, 10:00 PM UTC

maerF0x0 wrote: post #18

Back when this started I made the claim that the long term consequences of lock down would exceed the short term benefits . Depression, Drugs overdose, murder (despair), Suicide, extra sedentary issues leading to diabetese/CVD, loss of jobs/meaning et al. I havent seen anyone do the math of the uptick there to talk about the marginal benefit of lockdown or the fact that this, once again, is a form of biased benefit f…

my partner is a nurse so I just want to say fuck you

Re: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic

#27

Post by chrisco255 » Thu, Jul 02, 2020, 10:00 PM UTC

maerF0x0 wrote: post #18

Back when this started I made the claim that the long term consequences of lock down would exceed the short term benefits . Depression, Drugs overdose, murder (despair), Suicide, extra sedentary issues leading to diabetese/CVD, loss of jobs/meaning et al. I havent seen anyone do the math of the uptick there to talk about the marginal benefit of lockdown or the fact that this, once again, is a form of biased benefit f…

Not to mention long term economic consequences of permanently (not sure how much of this social distancing thing will last after the pandemic is over) altering human connectivity. 15-25% unemployment in most developed economies right now. A lot of the activities people get enjoyment out of (dancing, concerts, church, school, etc) are completely shut down.

Re: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic

#28

Post by starkd » Thu, Jul 02, 2020, 10:00 PM UTC

ethanbond wrote: post #20

pstrateman wrote: post #9

The same is happening in Canada, it's because addicts are able to get money from the government and they buy far more drugs than they're used to having. Edit: all the people downvoting me, why? not a single comment seriously, this isn't a theory, it's just the facts https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cerb-pandemic-opioid-addict...

Potentially a factor, but don’t you also think widespread unemployment and general trauma - collective and individual - could play a role?

Drug addiction will cause people to do truly unthinkable things. They get a wad of cash, the only thing they think about is drugs, and to hell with anything else. It's amazing how it re-prioritizes the structure of the brain.

Re: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic

#29

Post by travisporter » Thu, Jul 02, 2020, 10:01 PM UTC

Jtsummers wrote: post #13

drtillberg wrote: post #3

I'm cynical enough at this point to wonder whether the states will add these terrible losses to the COVID-19-related statistics to advocate for stricter and longer lock-downs.

I'm a bit confused by this. By my reading of the reopenings and behavior of state governments, many, if not most, state governments want to reopen. They're struggling financially since people aren't working or visiting the states to provide tax revenue. Most of my teacher friends have been in calls with their district administration where cutbacks (either in personnel or across the board pay cuts) have been discussed…

I'd wager parent believes it's Democratic state governments/officials. Why is it that anyone arguing online believes the world is either communist or pure capitalist, and nothing in between. I'm glad we don't live there.

OK, rant over.

Re: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic

#30

Post by Jtsummers » Thu, Jul 02, 2020, 10:01 PM UTC

commandlinefan wrote: post #21

nxc18 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

States have been chomping at the bit to end their lockdowns. The fact that cases are spiking again is precisely because states were too eager to end their lockdowns. China had a brutal lockdown early and thanks to that they are now largely back in business. Anti-lockdown sentiment early on is precisely the reason the US has had to prolong its suffering. The reason long lockdowns are happening is because we can’t must…

> had a brutal lockdown early and thanks to that they are now largely back in business Wait, that doesn't make sense - are you saying that they locked down long enough that everybody who had the virus "lost it" (either by getting healthy or dying)? That doesn't sound very plausible given what we know about epidemiology. The lockdown was sold here as a way to "flatten the curve": everybody who would have gotten it wil…

> The lockdown was sold here as a way to "flatten the curve": everybody who would have gotten it will still get it, but not all at once, so the hospitals won't be overwhelmed.

The lockdown was intended to do two things, not one:

1. What you say, reduce the rate of spread. The popular "flatten the curve" thing, which, when grossly simplified, suggests that if 1 million people were going to get it it was inevitable, but we could spread it out over months instead of weeks.

2. Reduce the total number of people exposed and thus reduce the total number who would eventually get it.

The disease is not inevitable for anyone, it is not inevitable that 70% of the population (picking an arbitrary figure here) would get the disease. It is inevitable that it was going to spread, and with proper controls that spread could be changed both in rate and total number infected.