Background: Once a widely used analgesic in the United States (US), meperidine offered an alternative opioid to other opioids as a pain reliever and was widely assumed to be safer with acute pancreatitis. However, within the last two decades meperidine, has gone from a frequently used drug to being used only when patients exhibit atypical reactions to opioids (e.g., morphine and hydromorphone), to being taken off the World Health Organization List of Essential Medications and receiving strong recommendations for overall avoidance. The aim of this study was to identify changes in meperidine distribution in the US, and regional disparities as reported to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System (DEA ARCOS) and Medicaid. Methods: Data related to meperidine distribution was obtained through ARCOS (2001–2021) and Medicaid public use files (2016–2021). Heat maps were used to visualize regional disparities in distribution by state. States outside a 95% confidence interval were statistically significant. Results: Meperidine distribution between 2001 and 2021 decreased by 97.4% (R = −0.97, p < 0.0001). There was a 34-fold state-level difference in meperidine distribution between Arkansas (16.8 mg/10 persons) and Connecticut (0.5 mg/10 persons) in 2020. Meperidine distribution in 2020 was elevated in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama. In 2021, meperidine distribution was highest in Arkansas (16.7 mg/10 persons) and lowest in Connecticut (0.8 mg/10 persons). Total prescriptions of meperidine as reported by Medicaid decreased by 73.8% (R = −0.67, p = 0.045) between 2016 and 2021. Conclusion: We observed a decrease in the overall distribution of meperidine in the past two decades, with a similar recent decline in prescribing it to Medicaid enrollees. The shortage of some parenteral formulations is an important contributor to these declines, however, the most likely explanation for this global decline in use is related to an increased recognition of safety concerns related to important drug interactions and a neurotoxic metabolite. This data may reflect plans to phase out the use of this opioid, especially in the many situations where safer and more preferred opioids are available.

Background Throughout US history, chronic and infectious diseases have severely impacted minority communities due to a lack of accessibility to quality healthcare and accurate information, as well as underlying racism. These fault lines in the care of minority communities in the US have been further exacerbated by the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy by race and ethnicity, particularly among African American and Latinx communities in Eastern Pennsylvania (PA). Methods Survey data was collected in July 2021 in Philadelphia, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Hazleton, PA. The 203 participants (38.7% Black, 27.5% Latinx) completed the 28-question survey of COVID-19 vaccination attitudes in either English or Spanish. Result Out of the 203 participants, 181 participants met all the inclusion criteria, including completed surveys; of these participants, over three-fifths (63.5%) were acceptant of the COVID-19 vaccine whereas the remainder (36.5%) were hesitant. Binary logistic regression results showed that age, concern for vaccine efficacy, race, knowledge on the vaccine, and belief that the COVID-19 virus is serious significantly influenced COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Minorities were more likely to be hesitant toward vaccination (OR: 2.8, 95% CI: 1.1, 6.8) than non-Hispanic whites. Those who believed the COVID-19 vaccine was ineffective (OR: 8.3, 95% CI: 3.8, 18.2), and that the virus is not serious (OR: 8.3, 95% CI: 1.1, 61.8) showed the greatest odds of hesitancy. Conclusions Minority status, age less than 45 years, misinformation about seriousness of COVID-19 illness, and concern about vaccine efficacy were contributing factors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Therefore, understanding and addressing the barriers to COVID-19 vaccination in minority groups is essential to decreasing transmission and controlling this pandemic, and will provide lessons on how to implement public health measures in future pandemics.

Background: Throughout US history, chronic and infectious diseases have severely impacted minority communities due to lack of accessibility to quality healthcare, accurate information, and underlying racism. These fault lines in the care of minority communities in the US have been further exposed by the rise of COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among African American and Latinx communities in Eastern Pennsylvania (PA). Methods: Survey data was collected in July 2021 in Philadelphia, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Hazleton, PA. The 203 participants (38.7% Black, 27.5% Latinx) completed the 28-question survey of COVID-19 vaccination attitudes in either English or Spanish. Results: Out of a total of 181 participants that met inclusion criteria of completed surveys, results indicate that 63.5% (n=115) were acceptant of the COVID-19 vaccine whereas the remainder 36.5% (n=66) were hesitant. Binary logistic regression results showed that age, concern for vaccine efficacy, race, knowledge on the vaccine, and belief that the COVID-19 virus is serious significantly influenced COVID vaccine hesitancy. Minorities were more likely to be hesitant toward vaccination (OR: 2.77, 95% CI: 1.13, 6.79) than non-Hispanic whites. Those who believed the COVID vaccine was ineffective (OR: 8.29, 95% CI: 3.78,18.2), and that the virus is not serious (OR: 8.28, 95% CI: 1.11, 61.8) showed the greatest odds of hesitancy. Conclusions: Contributing factors of vaccine hesitancy in minority communities were age, concern for vaccine efficacy, and education. Understanding and addressing the barriers to COVID-19 vaccination in minority groups is essential to decreasing transmission and controlling this pandemic.