COVID-19 Harm Reduction Resources

CDSA Exemption and Interpretive Guide for Controlled Substances

(Photo credit: Globe and Mail)

Read More

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can infect both humans and animals. Human coronaviruses are typically associated with mild illnesses, similar to the common cold. COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a new disease that has not been previously identified in humans. Symptoms may take up to 14 days to appear after exposure. They include cough, fever, difficulty breathing, and pneumonia in both lungs. Take this self-assessment tool if you think you may have COVID-19.

Guidance & Guidelines

Research & Gov’t

Search Downloadable Resources by Topic

civil liberties decriminalization event events hiring homelessness and shelter human rights imagine safe supply international labour unions miscellaneous OPS SCS services policing decrim and prisons prohibition request for proposal safer drug use safe supply safe supply OAT and iOAT sex and sex work treatment and recovery

Advocacy

COVID-19 Facts

• Symptom self-assessment tool
• Prevention and risks
• Symptoms and treatment
• Outbreak statistics and numbers (Canada)
• Prevention tips
• COVID myths vs facts (WHO)
• Provincial Support & Information
• UPHSN Community Practice Hub

Online Resources

TOPICS: Safer Drug Use Safe Supply, OAT, and iOAT Homelessness and Shelter Sex and Sex Work Police, Decrim., and Prisons OPS SCS Services Civil Liberties Miscellaneous

Safer Drug Use

• Video playlist: COVID-19 and harm reduction (Peer2Peer Project)
• Fact Sheet: Harm reduction during COVID-19 (Thunderbird Partnership Foundation)
• BeSafe safer drug use app
• Health Canada Toolkit: COVID-19 and Substance Use
• Resource for young people who use drugs (Youth Rise)
• COVID-19 Withdrawal Management Prescriber Guidelines
• COVID-19 Crisis: Harm Reduction Resources for People who Use Drugs (INPUD)
• BC CDC guidance for people who use substances
• Overdose Prevention Resource Line (Ontario) 1-888-853-8542

---

• Safer drug use during COVID-19 (Black CAP’s Toronto Urban Health Fund Harm Reduction Outreach Team, Black Health Alliance, UofT’s Black Medical Students Association)
• Procedures for drug service providers during COVID-19 (CAPUD)
• COVID and harm reduction safety tips (FR/EN)
• Safe Supply and Self-Advocacy Tool (BCAPOM)
• COVID-19 Harm Reduction Tips (City of Toronto)
• How to Access Safer Drugs (BC-Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors)
• COVID-19 and Pharmacotherapy (Harm Reduction Victoria, AUS)
• COVID-19 and Drug Use (Harm Reduction Victoria, AUS)
• COVID-19 Planning (Harm Reduction Victoria, AUS)
• COVID-19 Overdose Response Tips (Toronto Public Health)
• Frontline Worker Safety Guide
• Alcohol Use & COVID-19
• Harm Reduction Tips (MHRN)

Safe Supply, OAT, and iOAT

• Health Canada Toolkit: COVID-19 and Substance Use
• Temporary Authorizations for the Delivery of Opioid Agonist Treatment by Non-Pharmacists

Homelessness and Shelter

• Outreach guidelines during a pandemic (MHRN)
• Guidance for providers of services for people experiencing homelessness
• Resources for the homelessness sector during COVID-19 (Canadian Network for the Health and Housing of People Experiencing Homelessness)
• VCH manual for staff and community working with vulnerable populations
• London, ON: COVID-19 supports available for London’s most vulnerable
• Emergency services map for Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
• COVID Response: Food and shelter programs open in Vancouver
• Pandemic Preparedness and Homelessness: Lessons from H1N1 in Canada
• Homelessness and the Response to Emerging Infectious Disease Outbreaks: Lessons from SARS

---

• Urgent action to address inequitable COVID-19 response for people experiencing homelessness
• Housing is Healthcare
• Homelessness & Shelter Bed Spacing

Sex and Sex Work

• Sex and COVID-19 (CATIE)
• Sex Worker Harm Reduction Resources (US Based)
• Health Initiative for Men (HIM) and COVID-19

---

• COVID-19 Harm reduction guide for sex workers
• Sex work in the time of COVID-19
• COVID-19 and sex: graphic 1, graphic 2, graphic 3, graphic 4, graphic 5
• COVID-19 sex and social distancing

Police, Decrim., and Prisons

• COVID-19 Know your rights when dealing with the police
• Policing the pandemic: Tracking charges & violations related to COVID-19

---

• Alternatives to calling the police during the pandemic
• Five Social Justice Demands During the Crisis

OPS SCS Services

• Video playlist: COVID-19 and harm reduction (Peer2Peer Project)
• Q & A: Adapting programs in response to COVID-19
• Fact Sheet: Harm reduction during COVID-19 (Thunderbird Partnership Foundation)
• Health Canada Toolkit: COVID-19 and Substance Use
• How to make and wear cloth face coverings
• Coronavirus – general hygiene and harm reduction tips
• COVID-19 Crisis: Harm Reduction Resources for People who Use Drugs (INPUD)
• BC CDC guidance for people who use substances
• [VIDEO] How to make a mask out of a bandana (CAPUD)

---

• Naloxone and COVID-19
• COVID-19 Harm Reduction Tips (City of Toronto)
• Harm Reduction Tips (MHRN)

Civil Liberties

• COVID-19 and liberty updates (CCLA)
• Human rights concerns arising from the COVID-19 pandemic (Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights)

---

• COVID-19 and our Civil Liberties
• Rights in the time of COVID-19 (UNAIDS)

Miscellaneous

• Toolkit: COVID-19 vaccines and communications resources for Indigenous communities (Government of Canada)
• Video playlist: COVID-19 and harm reduction (Peer2Peer Project)
• Resources for medical staff and community partners working with vulnerable populations (Vancouver Coastal Health)
• Q & A: Adapting programs in response to COVID-19 (CATIE)
• Changes Related to COVID-19 in the Illegal Drug Supply and Access to Services, and Resulting Health Harms (CCSA)
• Fact Sheet: Harm reduction during COVID-19 (Thunderbird Partnership Foundation)
• Human rights concerns arising from the COVID-19 pandemic (Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights)
• BeSafe safer drug use app
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Indigenous communities
• Health Canada Toolkit: COVID-19 and Substance Use
• Outreach guidelines during a pandemic (MHRN)
• Resource for young people who use drugs (Youth Rise)
• Impacts of COVID on substance use (CCSA)
• HIV/hepatitis C and COVID-19
• VCH manual for staff and community working with vulnerable populations
• Emergency services map for Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
• Pandemic Planning: How Can My Agency Prepare for the Potential Spread of Coronavirus?

---

• Virtual Carer for Mental Health and Substance Use During COVID-19 (CCSA)
• Health Canada Section 56.1 Class Exemption
• Five Social Justice Demands During the Crisis
• Outreach Guidelines During COVID-19 (Province of Manitoba)

Webinars

• Dealing with the delta wave: COVID-19 update for communities affected by HIV (CATIE)
• Variants, vaccines and HIV care: COVID-19 information for people with HIV and their service providers (CATIE)
• The Ontario overdose crisis and the impact of COVID-19 (CATIE)
• Collecting race-based data to address HIV, hepatitis C and other health inequities (CATIE)
• Safe Supply with Dr. Kim Sue
• Community-driven harm reduction programs in Canada (CATIE)
• COVID-19 testing and its intersections with HIV and hepatitis C (CATIE)
• Sex in the time of COVID-19 (CATIE)
• HIV and COVID-19: Public health, clinical and frontline community perspectives (CATIE)
• COVID-19 Substance Use, and Safer Supply: Clinical guidance to reduce risk of infection and overdose (BCCSU)
• What Pharmacists Should Know About COVID-19, Substance Use, and Safe Supply
• COVID-19, Substance Use, and Safer Supply: 
Clinical Guidance to Reduce Risk of Infection and 
Overdose in Fraser Health Region
• COVID-19, Substance Use, and Safer Supply: 
Clinical Guidance to Reduce Risk of Infection and 
Overdose in Interior Health Region

Funding & Benefits

• Elton John Foundation: COVID-19 Emergency Fund
• Government of Alberta: Enhanced access to Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT)
• Vancouver Foundation: New Fund to Support Community Through COVID-19
• Funding for sex workers: https://chezstella.org/en/financial-aid-covid-19/

Latest News & Updates

• Calgary Journal, November 9: Opioid overdoses spike during COVID-19, leading to calls for a new approach to harm reduction
• Ottawa Citizen, November 9: Weekend overdose deaths underline increased risks during pandemic
• Global News, October 23: New article examines the compounded harms coronavirus pandemic has on overdose crisis
• Caledon Enterprise, October 18: How COVID-19 created a ‘steady spike’ of opioid-related deaths in Peel
• CBC, September 23: Opioid overdoses spike amid COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 3 Albertans dying per day
• The Walrus, September 14: The Pandemic is Intensifying the Opioid Crisis
• CBC, September 2: Decriminalization of drugs ‘not a silver bullet’ for overdose crisis, prime minister says
• Washington Post, August 16: Canada’s other health crisis: As overdoses surge, officials call on government to decriminalize illicit drugs
• CBC (Victoria), August 3: Government-sanctioned safe supply not enough to get some off fentanyl-laced street drugs
• Global (Regina), July 28: Regina’s front-line workers say coronavirus is causing ‘heartbreaking’ battles with addiction
• CBC (Vancouver), July 24: Amid ‘horrific’ spike in opioid deaths, doctors call for decriminalization, regulation of drugs
• CBC (Winnipeg), July 22: Signs of opioid overdoses surging in Winnipeg during pandemic
• CBC (Newfoundland), July 9:  With the pandemic pinching the unregulated market, legal cannabis sales spike in N.L.
• Grand Forks Gazette (Alberta), July 7: Parallel crisis: How COVID-19 exacerbated B.C.’s drug overdose emergency
• Tyee (Vancouver, BC), June 23: Drug Users Call for Safe Supply of Heroin and Cocaine, and Show How It’s Done
• CBC (Thunder Bay, ON), June 22: An epidemic within a pandemic: How Thunder Bay Ont., health care professionals are managing the opioid crisis
• CBC (Montreal, QC), June 19: Montreal’s CACTUS safe-injection community group sees more overdoses amid pandemic
• TriCity News (British Columbia), June 19: Rise in overdose deaths linked to COVID-19 pandemic, says Fraser Health
• CBC (Winnipeg, MN), June 17: ‘Alarming’ signs of pandemic overdose spike emerge in Winnipeg
• BNN Bloomberg (Toronto, ON), June 17: Pandemic has hit hard for B.C.’s opioid crisis: Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
• CBC (Toronto, ON), June 12: Rising overdose death amid coronavirus pandemic
• Star Vancouver (British Columbia), June 12: Fuelled by toxic drugs and COVID-19 isolation, a record number of B.C. overdoses puts spotlight on safe-supply efforts
• CBC (Ontario), June 10: Pandemic worsens Canada’s deadly opioid overdose epidemic
• CBC (Ottawa, ON), June 10: CERB benefits contributing to spike in overdoses, outreach workers warn
• Global New (Calgary, AB), May 29: How harm reduction measures are changing under the COVID-19 pandemic
• Global News, May 28: More Canadians are dying of drug overdoses — and coronavirus is to blame
• CBC (Vancouver, BC) May 28: Getting cut off safe supply prescription was like a ‘slap in the face,’ says Vancouver woman
• Whig Standard (Kingston, ON) May 28: COVID-19: New substances used to cut street drugs much harder to ‘reverse’
• Kitchener Today (Ontario) May 25: Harm Reduction Coordinator faces major challenges during pandemic
• infotel.ca (British Columbia) May 25: New overdose prevention app available in Interior Health region
• London Free Press (London, ON), May 22: Sereda: Opening ‘the system’ to all is best overdose prevention tool
• CBC (Windsor, ON), May 21: Experts concerned substance users might be avoiding care due to COVID-19 pandemic
• Whig Standard (Kingston, ON), May 19: COVID-19: Illegal drug chains being disrupted, leading to ‘incredibly toxic’ supply in B.C. 
• CBC (Ottawa, ON), May 14: Halt drug possession charges during pandemic to stem spike in overdose deaths, advocates say
• CBC (Vancouver, BC), May 12: B.C. moves to ‘safe supply’ as overdose deaths spike during COVID-19 pandemic
• CBC (Hamilton, ON), May 6: Fears a potent new street drug and lack of naloxone will mean a ‘crisis within a crisis’
• iPolitics (Toronto, ON), May 4: Ontario not considering ‘safe supply’ measures, despite spike in suspected overdoses
• Calgary Herald (Calgary, AB), April 30: Fentanyl deaths decline in 2019 but COVID-19 poses new concerns
• National Post (Toronto, ON), April 30: Opioid crisis worsens during pandemic as services for drug users scale back
• London Free Press (London, ON), April 29: ‘COVID collateral’: Struggles compounded for city’s poor, addicted, homeless
• CTV (Vancouver, BC), April 28: Are COVID-19 distancing measures contributing to a spike in overdose deaths in the DTES?
• CBC (Vancouver, BC), April 28: Don’t use drugs alone, health experts say, even with physical distancing guidelines in place
• BC Medical Journal Blog (BC), n.d.: Stopping the spread: Managing substance use disorders amid SARS-CoV-2
• Globe and Mail (Vancouver, BC), April 22: British Columbia revises COVID-19 directive that prevents firefighters from attending to most overdose calls
• CTV (Vancouver, BC), April 22: B.C. emergency doctor worries of possible rise in opioid deaths due to COVID-19
• The Conversation, n.d.: Decriminalizing drug use as we contain the coronavirus is the humane thing to do
• National Geographic, April 21: The pandemic may fuel the next wave of the opioid crisis
• Globe and Mail, April 19: Coronavirus pandemic is causing pandemonium in global illicit drug trade
• Ottawa Citizen (ON), April 16: Pandemic ‘one crisis too many’ for those with opioid addiction
• Vancouver Sun (BC), April 15: COVID-19: Provincial team tackles dual health crises in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
• CKPG News (Prince George, BC), April 14: ‘Now, we are facing a global pandemic on top of a fentanyl-poisoning crisis,’ says BC Minister
• TriCity News (BC), April 14: Health emergencies: Four weeks for COVID, four years for opioids
• Now Toronto (ON), April 13: Over 300 health-care workers sign open letter demanding more shelter for Toronto’s homeless
• Orillia Matters (Orillia, ON), April 13: Application for safe injection site ‘takes a back seat’ amid COVID-19
• St. Catharines Standard (Niagara, ON), April 13: Positive Living Niagara facing challenges during pandemic
• Globe and Mail, April 10: Pandemic restrictions reshape opioid treatment as doctors sound alarm
• Toronto Star (ON), April 9: Widespread COVID-19 outbreaks in Toronto’s shelters ‘inevitable’ without proper equipment, distancing, says advocacy group
• CTV Vancouver (BC), April 9: Second COVID-19 case confirmed in Vancouver homeless shelter
• News 1130 (Vancouver, BC), April 8: Opioids remain bigger threat in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside than COVID-19: Vancouver Mayor
• Forbes (US), April 5: The Opioid Epidemic Meets The Coronavirus Pandemic—With Potentially Deadly Results
• Vancouver Sun (BC), April 5: Benjamin Perrin and Jordan Westfall: A perfect storm — COVID-19 and the opioid crisis
• Crackdown Podcast (Vancouver, BC), April 4: Apocalypse Prescribing
• CBC (Vancouver, BC), April 3: Will COVID-19 force change in Vancouver’s troubled Downtown Eastside neighbourhood?
• Globe and Mail (Vancouver, BC), April 2: B.C. firefighters ordered to attend immediately life-threatening calls only
• Province (Vancouver, BC), April 2: Overdose prevention site suspended due to social-distancing restrictions
• The Tyee (Victoria, BC), April 2: Inside the Struggle to Keep Victoria’s Homeless Safe from COVID-19
• Georgia Straight (Vancouver, BC), April 1: COVID-19: Open letter from DTES frontline workers to Horgan, Dix, Henry, Daly, Stewart, and Darcy—we need more, now
• VICE (Vancouver, BC), March 31: BC Will Prescribe Heroin Alternatives to Slow Overdoses and COVID-19 Exposure
• Daily Hive Vancouver, March 26, COVID-19 highlights the urgency to expand the “safe supply” opioids machine model
• Regina Leader-Post, March 20: COVID-19 shows we need to address homelessness, addiction
• Pipestone Flyer (Red Deer, AB), March 27: Opening Red Deer’s safe consumption site would reduce strain on system during COVID-19, says advocate
• Vancouver Courier, March 27: ‘Safe supply’ of drugs good news in Vancouver, but is it only here for the pandemic?
• CKNW (Vancouver, BC), March 27: Protecting residents of the DTES during the COVID-19 crisis
• VIA (Vancouver, BC), March 24: DTES response launched to protect community from COVID-19
• Globe and Mail, March 26: COVID-19 pandemic pushes B.C. to move forward on safe take-home drug supply strategy
• The Conversation, March 26: How coronavirus is changing the market for illegal drugs
• Vancouver Sun, March 27: COVID-19: Safe-drug supplies part of package as Vancouver addresses Downtown Eastside
• CBC (Vancouver, BC), March 26: Safe supply of drugs for DTES residents given green light by Canadian government, says Vancouver
• National Observer (La Ronge, SK), March 26: La Ronge shelter hangs by a thread amid COVID-19 crisis
• CBC (Vancouver, BC), March 26: Increasing COVID-19 risks in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
• CBC (Vancouver, BC), March 25 Advocates worry about spread of COVID-19 in the Downtown Eastside as cheque day brings out crowds
• The Star (Calgary, AB), March 23: Calgary relocating homeless from shelters to hotels in effort to limit coronavirus spread
• Victoria News (BC), March 25: Overdose prevention, safe injection sites take extra precautions to mitigate COVID-19
• Ricochet, March 25: Supervised consumption sites scrambling to handle two public health crises at once
• The Tyee, March 24: Drugs Were Already Poisoned. Now COVID-19 Adds a New Threat
• CBC, March 24: East Hastings Street on DTES should be closed to help social distancing among homeless, advocate says
• News 1130, March 24: Dwindling drug supply on DTES drives prices up, leaves users desperate as COVID-19 closes border
• The Coast (Halifax, NS), March 19: Surviving Canada’s overdose crisis under the shadow of COVID-19
• Hamilton Spectator (Hamilton, ON), March 24: Supervised injection sites short protective equipment amid outbreak
• Globe and Mail, March 24: For the homeless, the coronavirus crisis is untenable – but so is the social-distancing response
• VICE (Vancouver, BC), March 20: Supervised Drug Use Will Move Online Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
• Maclean’s Magazine, March 25: A safe supply for drug users may be the only way to head off an even greater coronavirus tragedy
• STAT, March 17: COVID-19 will worsen the opioid overdose crisis is we don’t prepare now
• Calgary Herald, March 20: Calgary addictions services working quickly to adapt to COVID-19 restrictions
• Ottawa Citizen, March 19: Ottawa’s opioid crisis takes a turn for the worse during coronavirus pandemic
• London Free Press, March 20: COVID-19: Crisis confronts Londoners with challenges homeless and people who use drugs face every day, MD says
• Crackdown Podcast, n.d., Crackdown Podcast – Episode 14: Emergency Measures
• United Nations (International), March 18: “Housing, the front line defence against the COVID-19 outbreak,” says UN expert
• Harm Reduction in the Time of Coronavirus
• Social distancing a challenge for people recovering from addictions, says Windsor man
• ‘A major issue’: Edmonton homeless at serious risk amid COVID-19
• CBC, March 18: WHO clarifies guidance on ibuprofen, says there’s no evidence it can worsen COVID-19

Who to Support