Marijuana Use And Breakthrough Cases Of COVID-19 In CA: New Study

San Francisco CA

11 October, 2021

4:26 PM

Description

CALIFORNIA — Californians suffering from a dependence on marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, opioids or tobacco are more likely to suffer a breakthrough case of coronavirus, according to a new study. A breakthrough infection is one contracted by a vaccinated person two weeks after a second dose. While breakthrough cases aren't rare, unvaccinated people were 7.1 times more likely to get COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to data collected by state officials in California between Sept. 19 and Sept. 25. The results of a recent study found that breakthrough infections were seen in 3.6 percent of vaccinated people without substance use disorder, while 7 percent of those with the disorder experienced breakthrough infections. These findings were published Oct. 5 in the journal World Psychiatry, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. "In our study, the overall risk of COVID-19 infection among vaccinated SUD patients was low, highlighting the effectiveness and the need for full vaccination in this population," researchers wrote in the study. "However, our findings document that this group remains a vulnerable one even after vaccination, confirming the importance for vaccinated patients with [substance abuse disorder] to continue to take protective preventive measures against the infection." The study did not dig into the causal relationship between substance dependency and breakthrough cases (if any), only the correlation. In fact, when researchers quantified and discarded factors such as economic hardships and underlying health conditions, any heightened risk of coming down with COVID-19 vanished. That said, the study showed marijuana users at the greatest risk for breakthrough cases among the SUD community, at 7.8 percent.So is it something in the weed itself? Or in the joint-bogarting habits of the marijuana-dependent community? A NIDA spokesperson told Newsweek that "[I]ndividual behavior patterns and social conditions may be a major contributing factor above and beyond simply exhibiting problematic substance use patterns, such as lack of access to reliable information, sharing joints, etc." In California, 46.3 unvaccinated residents per 100,000 were infected with coronavirus, according to data from the week of Sept. 23. Meanwhile, just 6.4 vaccinated residents per 100,000 contracted the virus. Unvaccinated And Vaccinated Data (California Department of Public Health) According to state data, unvaccinated people were 17.4 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than vaccinated people. Statewide, deaths recorded in those who were vaccinated were recorded at 0.6 per million. Deaths recorded in those who were unvacciated were recorded at 11.1 per million, according to the state. (California Department of Public Health) As of Monday, some 85 percent of Californians have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the state. A total of 50,595,670 doses have been administered statewide. More than 79 percent of California's population was fully vaccinated as of Monday. California Coronavirus Data as of Monday: California has 4,553,194 confirmed cases to date. There were 16,921 newly reported confirmed cases Friday through Sunday. The 7-day positivity rate is 2.2%.There have been 96,197,179 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 1,098,447 during the prior 72-hour reporting period.There have been 69,741 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.