In a recent survey, researchers at SERAF and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health worked with representatives from a user organization, proLAR Nett, to investigate whether people who use drugs followed governmental recommendations and their attitudes to Covid-19 vaccination.
477 people who used drugs responded to a net-based questionnaire from January to March 2021. The participants were from 29 different cities or urban regions in Norway. The interviewers were former drug users or low threshold services employees.
Thirty-four percent of the respondents had injected drugs at some point in the previous week. The most commonly used substances were alcohol (41%), cannabis (41%), tranquilizers (37%), stimulant (35%) and opioids (30%).
During the past two weeks, the majority of the respondents (more than 90%) had always or almost always washed their hands, used alcohol sanitizers and face masks, when appropriate, kept a distance from other people and stayed at home when feeling unwell.
Fifty-eight percent of the participants said they were very or somewhat likely to be Covid-19 vaccinated if recommended, while 26% said it was somewhat or very unlikely that they would take the vaccine. Those being unsatisfied with life, using opioids or seldom or never staying at home when feeling unwell, were more skeptical of vaccination.