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MileysMooseKnuckle t1_j0ljtpk wrote

Reply to comment by WestCoastSurfGod in Scientists Create a Vaccine Against Fentanyl by agaperion

And also pretty useless for hospitals.

Fentanyl is used as a medicine for a huge list of things but importantly anesthesia, because the body still responds to pain even when unconscious and blocking that can have a few benefits, but importantly it can remove reflexive movements and limit inflammation (no signals for injury, no immediate response by the body).

It's also used because its got a wider range of dosage than morphine, as in you can get effects with a smaller dose while weaker concentrations have both a lower minimum dose and higher maximum dose.

Having people who are unaffected by it could cause issues in hospitals.

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agaperion OP t1_j0lsky0 wrote

Assuming for the sake of discussion that this is only given to addicts so they can break their addiction then I don't think that would be any more of a strain on hospitals than preexisting exceptions demanding special consideration, such as allergies and natural treatment resistance. It's already common for people to know when they can't be administered a given medication and to inform first responders and doctors. It's also already common for that information to sometimes not be provided and for a patient's treatment to fail. Unfortunate, yes. But also, we weigh these sorts of cost-benefit considerations all the time. It comes with the territory of living in a society. The possibility of that occasional misfortune doesn't seem to outweigh the benefit of helping millions and potentially ending the fentanyl crisis.

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