US overdose deaths hit record 100,000 in a year, driven by fentanyl use and the coronavirus pandemic
- Many drug users were left socially isolated and unable to get treatment or other support as Covid-19 spread across the country
- Drug overdose fatalities now surpass deaths from car crashes, guns and even flu and pneumonia
An estimated 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year, a never-before-seen milestone that health officials say is tied to the Covid-19 pandemic and a more dangerous drug supply.
Overdose deaths have been rising for more than two decades, accelerated in the past two years and, according to new data posted Wednesday, jumped nearly 30 per cent in the latest year.
Experts believe the top drivers are the growing prevalence of deadly fentanyl in the illicit drug supply and the pandemic, which left many drug users socially isolated and unable to get treatment or other support.
Drug overdoses now surpass deaths from car crashes, guns and even flu and pneumonia. The total is close to that for diabetes, the nation’s No. 7 cause of death.
The number is “devastating,” said Katherine Keyes, a Columbia University expert on drug abuse issues. “It’s a magnitude of overdose death that we haven’t seen in this country.”