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An alarming rise in local opioid overdoses has coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.
“A lot has happened in the last year, and there is definitely the connection,” said Dr. Wajid Ahmed, the region’s Medical Officer of Health.
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“The stress of the pandemic is having a significant toll of the mental health of everyone … Some individuals are more impacted than others. One particular group we are concerned about is individuals with substance abuse disorders.”
Since 2016, there has been a significant increase in cases and deaths. “The pandemic is really taking a toll on everyone,” says Dr. Wajid Ahmed, medical officer of health, of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. “It’s something that is troubling us and we are trying to work with our partners to find better ways to create awareness. In 2020, there were 350 cases and 64 deaths reported. Of those, 97.9 per cent of deaths were found to be accidental while 53.2 per cent of deaths affected users between the ages of 25 and 44. There were 48 deaths reported in 2019 and 37 deaths reported in 2017. The top opioid seen in these deaths were Fentanyl.
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Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens waited in a drive-thru line for an hour to receive his first COVID-19 vaccine Saturday at a pop-up clinic on Howard Avenue.
“It was certainly time well spent. I’m excited to have the first shot done,” Dilkens said after receiving a shot of Pfizer.
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Dr. Lisa Jansen organized the clinic at her family practice and opened it up to anyone 18 years and over.
Dilkens saw the notice on social media and headed over.
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Two elderly women living in the community are the latest local fatalities from COVID-19.
A woman over 100 years old and another in her 90s bring the regional death toll to 416 according to Saturday’s update from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.
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The health unit reported 37 more confirmed cases for a total of 15,752 since the pandemic began. Of the new cases, 22 are close contacts of a confirmed case, eight are community acquired, two are related to an outbreak and five are still under investigation.
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The announcement that Pfizer will ship vaccines to Canada from its Michigan plant means Windsor could soon start receiving more doses at a faster rate, according to the CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital.
David Musyj said the first shipment from Kalamazoo, Mich., will arrive in Windsor this week.
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“If we were to have a good sign about future supplies, stability of future supplies and increase of future supplies, it’s the fact Pfizer is now shipping from Kalamazoo to us,” he said. “It provides comfort for us.”