US saw 100,000 drug overdose deaths in one year amid pandemic, CDC says

Data reveals deaths caused by opioids rose 28.5% compared with the year before, with fentanyl involved in over 60% of the deaths
The Guardian (UK)
Wednesday, November 17, 2021

fentanyl alert nyThe estimated number of drug overdose deaths in the US during a 12-month period ending in April rose by 28.5% compared with the same period the year before, according to new provisional data released by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. There were an estimated 100,306 drug overdose deaths across the country during a 12-month period ending in April, compared with 78,056 deaths reported during the same period the year before.The data also reveals that estimated overdose deaths caused by opioids jumped from 56,064 in the previous year to 75,673. Overdose deaths caused by synthetic opioids – primarily fentanyl – and psychostimulants including methamphetamine also increased during the 12-month period.