qu1ckbeam

Do you have any comments re. Doug Ford's plan to reassess the merit of safe-injection sites in your province based on his opinion about them?

It's hard for me to understand the push for a reassessment when current data indicates that safe injection sites result in more favourable long-term health outcomes, including preventing hepatitis C transmission:

accessing Insite was independently associated with reductions in needle sharing [...] people who accessed Insite reported sharing needles less frequently [...] clients of SISs in Europe also reported reductions in needle sharing when they had access to a SIS

Insite clients were also more likely to report less risky sexual practices [...] for clients with regular sexual partners, 25% used condoms regularly before they began injecting at Insite compared to 33% two years after Insite opened [...] 62% of clients regularly used condoms with casual partners before they began injecting at Insite compared to 70% two years later [...] clients visiting SISs in Europe also report more consistent condom use after using SISs

Insite is predicted to avert up to 84 new HIV infections annually [...] a study of a prospective SIS in Montreal found that 11 cases of HIV and 65 cases of HCV could be prevented each year in that city [...] SISs can prevent the spread of blood-borne infections, including HIV and HCV, and can therefore decrease the burden on the healthcare system of extensive lifetime costs associated with these infections [...] the annual cost savings as a result of HIV infections prevented at Insite are estimated to be between $2.85 and $8.55 million [...] another study found an average of $17.6 million in lifetime medical expenses saved for each year that Insite is operational [...] all of these estimates of savings greatly exceed Insite’s annual operating cost of $3 million

Are you aware of any other data linking safe injection sites to lower rates of hepatitis C transmission?

How did you deal with the first three doctors trying to convince you it was all in your head, suggesting you were abused or trying to prescribe inappropriate medications?

I wish they would bring the vaccine back since it was effective.

Valneva is currently at the human trial stage for a new version of the vaccine, currently named VLA15-101.

Well, they work for a little while.

Hungry, hungry herbivores