CDC: Drug overdose death rates accelerating amid pandemic

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the overdose epidemic has accelerated across the country and in Ohio (Source: “Overdose deaths remain high in Ohio, U.S. in 2020,” (Willoughby) News Herald, Jan. 2).

According to a recently released U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, more than 81,000 overdose deaths reported between June 2019 and May 2020 were the most-ever reported in the country during a 12-month period.

The CDC stated that while overdose deaths were already increasing in the months preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, these latest figures “suggest an acceleration of overdose deaths during the pandemic.”

Ohio saw its most-ever overdose deaths in a single month in May. According to Harm Reduction Ohio’s analysis of the Ohio Department of Health’s preliminary mortality data, there were at least 557 overdose deaths that month. There were at least 487 overdose deaths in the state in June (a monthly record) and at least 446 in July (another monthly record).