Individuals with OUD are at increased risk for contracting and spreading COVID-19 since drug procurement and use practices usually require social contact (Jenkins et al., 2020). Furthermore, opioids have an intrinsic immunosuppressive effect (by altering or suppressing the functionality of the various cell types of both innate and adaptive immunity) (Plein and Rittner, 2018; Roy et al., 2011), and a recent study showed that prescribed opioids, especially higher-dose and immunosuppressive opioids, are associated with an increased pneumonia risk (Edelman et al., 2019). Withdrawal could also have an immunosuppressive effect (Roy et al., 2011).
