Methadone Delivered In NYC Amid Coronavirus Crisis

NEW YORK CITY — New Yorkers battling with opioid addiction amid the novel coronavirus crisis can receive free home deliveries of methadone from the city.

The city's Health Department announced Tuesday the soft launch of a new program to make the addiction-combatting drug more readily available.

“Methadone is a life-saving medication,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. “New Yorkers who take methadone and get sick from COVID-19 should not have to choose between getting their medication and protecting their health or the health of others."

Addicted New Yorkers who tested positive for COVID-19, show symptoms or are at high risk if infected can qualify for the delivery service made possible only by the loosening of federal regulations, according to the Health Department.

Health Department employees — supplied with masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes — will work in teams of two to make about 1,300 curbside deliveries a month, according to a press release.

Several city council members criticized the program in interviews with the New York Post, calling it an example of "misplaced priorities."

“I think it’s disgusting," reportedly said Queens Republican City Council member Eric Ulrich. “The Department of Health should be delivering COVID testing kits to communities hardest hit by the virus.”

But New York doctors celebrated the move on Twitter, saying it would bring relief to vulnerable patients who have had trouble getting the medication they need amid the pandemic, which overwhelmed the hospital system.

New Yorkers can find more information about substance use and their health here. Individuals seeking support or treatment for substance use issues for themselves or their loved ones can contact NYC Well by calling 1-888-NYC-WELL, texting “WELL” to 65173, or going to nyc.gov/nycwell. Free, confidential support is available at any hour of the day in over 200 languages.