The COVID-19 pandemic has dominated the news since last spring, pushing aside America s other epidemic the opioid epidemic which has only gotten worse in the intervening months.
People who work on the front lines of the opioid epidemic on Cape Cod say isolation caused by COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing protocols that limit access to 12-step and other meetings are part of what s driving the increase.
Susan Kinnane of Eastham lost their son Danny Vigliano to an overdose in August. The 35-year-old, whose struggle she said was made worse by the isolation, died alone on the floor of a Brockton MBTA station. Toxicology reports showed ethanol and fentanyl in his system.