In an article by NBC titled “’A staggering increase’: Yearly overdose deaths top 100,000 for first time,” the reporter draws attention to a startling milestone drug related deaths. The 30% spike in the U.S. during the pandemic drove these record-breaking numbers according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This news hearkens back to a previous post I created regarding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on opioid usage and overdose rates.
Looking at the midwestern states, my home state of Indiana had the third highest increase at 32%. As sobering as that number is, Kentucky fared the worst in the midwest with a 55% increase in fatal overdose deaths. (data)
“It’s a staggering increase for one year.”
Bob Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at the National Center for Health Statistics.
“As we continue to make strides to defeat the Covid-19 pandemic, we cannot overlook this epidemic of loss, which has touched families and communities across the country.”
President Joe Biden in a statement on November 17th.
“You’ve likely heard we shattered the record for opioid overdose deaths last year. What you may not have heard: Black and Hispanic mortality rates increased by over 40% during 2020, compared to a 24% increase for Whites. Damn.”
Phil Sanchez, WISH-TV
The circumstances are considered to be part of what is driving the increase, but so are fentanyl-laced drugs according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. These drugs are smuggled in and deemed “primarily responsible for fueling the ongoing opioid crisis.” Four out of ten fentanyl-laced pills contain a potentially lethal dose, of those recently tested in a Federal lab.
Separately, the CDC has reported that the life expectancy decrease in 2020 was the largest decline in one year since World War II. This means that the number of deaths resulting from COVID-19, overdoses, and other factors created an impact more devastating than in any previous year since 1945.
We can’t ignore other factors contributing to the increased mortality rates. Dr. Andrew Kolodny, medical director of opioid policy research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University afrees, the pandemic can’t be a scapegoat.
https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/us-drug-overdose-deaths-increase-covid-pandemic
https://www.dailypress.com/news/health/dp-nws-opioid-numbers-20180430-story.html
Brice Rider 