The worst of the deaths coincides with closures and other measures taken to control the pandemic, the CDC said in a health alert.
Data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) indicate that approximately 81,230 deaths from drug overdoses occurred in the U.S. during this period.
“This represents a worsening of the drug overdose epidemic in the United States and is the largest number of drug overdoses over a 12-month period ever recorded,” the CDC alert said.
The most common are overdoses of synthetic opioids such as illicitly made fentanyl. But there is also an increase in deaths from drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine, the CDC added.
And the numbers look bleak. “The 12-month death toll from synthetic opioids increased 38.4% from the twelve months that ended in June 2019 compared to the twelve months that ended in May 2020,” the CDC said.
A 98% increase in deaths from synthetic opioids was observed in ten western states, coinciding with increased availability of these drugs in this region. “After declining by 4.1% from 2017 to 2018, the number of overdose deaths increased by 18.2%, from the twelve months that ended in June 2019 to the twelve months that ended in May 2020 “, added.
The agency says people should be educated about the risks of using drugs alone.
“These recently published provisional lethal overdose data, along with the well-known deterioration in public health, health care and social services as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and related mitigation measures, highlight the need that essential services continue to be accessible to those most at risk of overdose and the need to expand prevention and response activities, ”the agency added.
Recommendations also include expanding the use of the drug for naloxone overdose. The CDC said it is important to expand the places where overdose prevention education is provided and naloxone to take home, especially in rural areas.