In July 2020, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) published a report on Ireland’s response to Covid-19 in relation to people who are homeless and use drugs, entitled Saving lives in the time of COVID-19: case study of harm reduction, homelessness and drug use in Dublin, Ireland.¹ The report is a policy briefing that outlines the policy changes made in Ireland to harm reduction services in response to Covid-19. It argues that lives within the target group were saved as a result of these changes and that the policy changes should be maintained in the post-Covid era.

The Covid-19 pandemic presents a major challenge to healthcare services and the provision of care. A commentary on the Irish experience of challenges faced by people who use opioids (PWUO) and the service providers working with this vulnerable population was published in Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems.¹ The authors also describe and discuss the evidence guiding the measures implemented to reduce the risks associated with Covid-19 to Irish opioid agonist treatment (OAT) services.

Various national and international bodies have highlighted additional dangers faced by PWUO and produced guidelines for drug treatment and harm reduction practitioners. To this end, the Health Service Executive (HSE) published guidelines for general practitioners and pharmacies providing OAT services to those at greatest risk at this time.²