CDC Report: Overdose Deaths Increase Dramatically During COVID-19
Over 87,000 Americans Have Died from Overdoses During COVID-19
More than 87,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in the 12 months leading to September 2020, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) eclipsing the toll from any year since the opioid epidemic began in the 1990s.
This represents a 29% increase in overdose deaths for the months between October 2019 and September 2020 compared to the prior year.
Overdose deaths from drugs had begun rising in the months leading to the COVID-19 pandemic, after dipping slightly in 2018 for the first time in years, the biggest spike in deaths occurred in April and May 2020, when fear and stress were rampant, job losses were multiplying, and the strictest lockdown measures were in effect.
Illicitly manufactured fentanyl and other synthetic opioids were the primary drivers, although many fatal overdoses have also involved stimulant drugs, particularly methamphetamine.
“America is facing a public health crisis, an epidemic, regarding addiction and this is happening within a global pandemic, COVID-19. We often hear that the opposite of addiction is human connection. COVID-19 ravaged America in many ways, and we’ve all felt its impact in different areas of our lives. People seeking or in recovery are having an especially difficult time given that what often helps us most is the recognition that we are not alone. Not being able to connect with our peers in person has affected many of us and we’ve had to come up with innovative ways to stay in contact,” said Neil Campbell, Executive Director of the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse.
“It is essential that our elected officials, at the Federal, state, and local level accept the reality before them: that COVID-19 not only attributed to over 87,000 Americans dying, but there are hundreds of thousands of Americans also impacted but who are alive and seeking recovery. These Americans need and deserve help. They need access to peer led recovery programs and these programs must not only be funded, they must be expanded,” said Jeff Breedlove, Chief of Policy and Communications for the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse.
“Our community has suffered during COVID-19. 87,000 deaths over the past 12 months equates to over 230 individuals dying per day and that is a tragedy. There is still time for elected officials to respond to this CDC report with action and provide long-term funding for prevention, treatment and recovery supports. The answer to this crisis is before us and Americans are looking to our elected officials to declare addiction a national pandemic and fund evidenced-based, recovery-focused programs at levels necessary to save lives, restore families, and strengthen communities,” said Campbell.
