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In 2021, overdose deaths in the US reached their highest level on record, according to CDC data

2022-05-11T17:42:28.926Z


Nearly 108,000 people died from overdoses in 2021 in the US, and about two-thirds of those deaths were related to fentanyl or another synthetic opioid.


Teen overdose deaths have doubled 3:19

(CNN) --

Drug overdoses in the United States were deadlier than ever in 2021, according to provisional data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Nearly 108,000 people died from overdoses in 2021 in the country, and about two-thirds of those deaths were related to fentanyl or another synthetic opioid.

  • What is fentanyl, the drug fueling the US overdose epidemic?

Overdose deaths have been rising in the United States for years, but have spiked amid the Covid-19 pandemic: Annual deaths were nearly 50% higher in 2021 than in 2019, according to CDC data.

The increase in overdose deaths in the second year of the pandemic was not as dramatic as in the first year: overdose deaths increased by about 15% between 2020 and 2021, compared to the 30% jump between 2019 and 2020 .

But the change is still remarkable.

In 2021, about 14,000 more people died from overdoses than in 2020, according to CDC data.

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"This is indeed a continuation of a terrible trend. Overdose death rates have been on the rise for decades, rising at an unprecedented rate just before the start of the covid-19 pandemic in the US. USA," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The pandemic has accelerated trends that were already headed in the wrong direction, and experts say turning the tide will require focused efforts and time, both strategically and ideologically.

What effects does fentanyl produce?

1:14

In February, Katherine Keyes, an associate professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health whose research focuses on psychiatric and substance use epidemiology, told CNN that easing COVID-19 restrictions would not mean an immediate change.

"You're not going to see a pushback in the same way that you saw an acceleration because these drug distribution networks and addiction take root in the community. And it's not like they're going to shut down overnight," Keyes said.

  • How xylazine, a veterinary sedative, is making overdoses even more risky

Early in the pandemic, Keyes was part of a research team that modeled the potential impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on drug overdoses.

They found that even if the pandemic ended overnight, the effects on overdoses would persist for at least a year.

Drug abuse treatment was scarce even before the pandemic.

In 2019, more than 20 million people ages 12 and older reported having a substance use disorder, of which only 10% said they received care, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. of the United States Department of Health.

And a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation cites evidence that access to and use of these services got even worse during the pandemic.

The illicit drug supply in the US has also undergone a "massive change" in the past two decades, Volkow said.

"Previously, prescription drug misuse and heroin use were the main drivers of overdose deaths. However, when fentanyl and other synthetic opioids began to infiltrate the drug market several years ago, we began to to see how expanding exposure to a profitable, easy-to-manufacture, and incredibly dangerous drug dramatically increased the risk and vulnerability to overdose deaths."

The rise in use of the synthetic drug caught the attention of experts before Covid-19 hit, but the pandemic may have exacerbated the problem.

Since international travel is limited, the easier-to-manufacture and more concentrated synthetic drugs are likely to be easier to smuggle across borders, Volkow said.

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Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-05-11

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