Public advised to carry naloxone
Surgeon general urges measure to save lives
Pennsylvanians should find it easy to heed the advice of the U.S. surgeon general to arm themselves in the fight against opioid abuse.
Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams, in a public health advisory Thursday, said anyone who comes into contact with people at risk for opioid overdoses should carry and know how to use the overdose-reversing drug naloxone.
Residents of Pennsylvania can already do so because of a standing order signed in 2015 by the state secretary of health and physician general, Rachel Levine, that allows willing pharmacies to dispense naloxone to anyone requesting it.
Though detractors say making naloxone available provides a safety net that encourages opioid abuse, supporters hope the people who survive will then seek treatment for their addiction.
“It’s impossible to get people into treatment if they’re dead,” Ms. Levine said Thursday in a conference call organized by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
She said that since Pennsylvania began distributing naloxone to police departments three years ago, officers have reversed 6,700 overdoses. As of March, officers in more than 100 police departments
in Allegheny County were carrying naloxone.
“We never want our first responders to be in a position where they can’t save a life, and similarly feel that if individuals in the community are willing to carry naloxone they absolutely should because anybody who can be present for an overdose should be equipped to save a life,” said Laura Drogowski, critical communities initiatives manager for Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.
“I think everybody should have access to it,” she said. “I personally carry it. I think it’s sort of like knowing CPR.”
Naloxone can restore a person’s breathing after it is injected or sprayed in the nostrils, quickly bringing overdose victims back from near-death.
The drug, which is often referred to by the brand name Narcan, is available without a prescription in most states. Another product, Evzio, is available with a prescription and delivers naloxone via a hand-held auto-injector.
It’s important for family members, friends and others close to opioid users to have the overdose-reversing drugs readily available, Dr. Adams said, because statistics show that more than half of opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. occur at home.
“Each day we lose 115 Americans to an opioid overdose — that’s one person every 12.5 minutes,” Dr. Adams said. “It is time to make sure more people have access to this lifesaving medication, because 77 percent of opioid overdose deaths occur outside of a medical setting and more than half occur at home.”
In 2017, 717 overdose deaths were reported in Allegheny County.
Dr. Adams said 95 percent of all insured Americans are covered to purchase naloxone. Narcan nasal spray, one of the most widely available products, can cost about $80 for one dose. Generic, injectable versions of naloxone are cheaper.
For those who are uninsured, the antidote is often available at little or no cost through local public health programs, Dr. Adams said. He also wants more federal funds dedicated to increasing naloxone access on local levels.
“Costs should not and, in the near future, will not be a barrier to accessing naloxone for anyone in America,” Dr. Adams said.
The surgeon general said naloxone will not singlehandedly solve the opioid crisis and should instead be used “in conjunction with expanded access to evidencebased treatment.”
“There are people out there who think naloxone doesn’t make a difference: You’re just going to go on and misuse substances again,” he said. “That would be like me saying I’m not going to do CPR on someone having a heart attack because if we save them, they’re just going to go out there and eat fast food and be back here all over again.”