Did they control for historic inequity? How well does the Covid death rate correlate with opioid abuse? Seriously, some counties have historically got the sho

Did they control for historic inequity? How well does the Covid death rate correlate with opioid abuse? Seriously, some counties have historically got the short end of the stick through jobs loss due to changing global economics since the 70s (guess who they are courted by?). Guess what happens to a community devastated by loss, the ones who can: leave, the ones who can't: stay. In the end isn't it all selection bias?