Overdose Deaths Increased by 15 Percent in 2021, CDC Reports

Overdose Deaths Increased by 15 Percent in 2021, CDC Reports.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of overdose deaths in 2021 was almost 108,000.

This equates to a 15 percent increase from the year before on top of the nearly 30 percent increase in overdose deaths reported in 2020.

Officials say the epidemic is being fueled by the widespread availability of meth and fentanyl.

There’s an intertwined synthetics epidemic the likes of which we’ve never seen, Dr. Dan Ciccarone, UC San Francisco, via 'The New York Times'.

We’ve never seen a powerful opioid such as fentanyl being mixed with such a potent methamphetamine, Dr. Dan Ciccarone, UC San Francisco, via 'The New York Times'.

Fentanyl is cheaper and easier to manufacture and distribute than heroin.

It is also more potent than heroin, often resulting in deadly consequences.

The economics of fentanyl have just been pushing the other drugs out of the market, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Johns Hopkins University, via 'The New York Times'.

It’s just so cheap to buy fentanyl and turn around and put it in whatever, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Johns Hopkins University, via 'The New York Times'.

As the COVID pandemic continues to wane, officials say the increase in overdose deaths can no longer be attributed to isolation.

In the beginning stages of the pandemic, we were attributing the increase to life being disrupted, Kelly Dougherty, Deputy Health Commissioner of VT, via 'The New York Times'.

What is really the primary driver is the presence of fentanyl in the drug supply, Kelly Dougherty, Deputy Health Commissioner of VT, via 'The New York Times'.

The Biden administration recently announced a new approach to the epidemic that focuses on "harm reduction" rather than abstinence.

While the new approach has the potential to save lives, state officials say it may not be enough to combat the accessibility of fentanyl.

You can have the most robust treatment system and not everybody is going to avail themselves of it when maybe they should, or before they end up overdosing, Kelly Dougherty, Deputy Health Commissioner of VT, via 'The New York Times'