A record 621 people have died from overdoses in San Francisco so far this year, a staggering figure that far exceeds the 173 deaths from COVID-19 the city has recorded so far.
The crisis unleashed by the powerful analgesic fentanyl could have been much worse had it not been for the nearly 3,000 times naloxone was used from January to early November to save someone’s life on the verge of death, he posted the San Francisco Chronicle Saturday.
The data reflects the number of times people report using the drug Narcan for the Overdose Prevention and Education Project (DOPE), a program with municipal funds that coordinates the response. of the San Francisco authorities in the event of an overdose, or re-supply.
DOPE Project officials point out that since the figures are reported by those involved, the cases are most likely more real.
Last year, 441 people died from an overdose – a 70% increase compared to 2018 – and 2,610 potential overdoses were prevented by the use of Narcan, a drug commonly sprayed through the nasal passages to reverse an opiate overdose. according to data from the city’s forensic office and the DOPE Project.
The crisis is exacerbated because fentanyl, which can be 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, flooded the city’s supply, the newspaper said.
Moreover, the coronavirus pandemic has affected the services of local authorities such as housing and treatment, leaving many people dependent on others for assistance in case they overdose can use it on their own.
While about 40% of the deaths occurred in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods near the city center, authorities data showed that the epidemic has reached all areas of the city.
Many of the people suffered overdoses in apartment buildings in underserved areas and in city-funded hotel rooms for the homeless. Others died on the sidewalks, in alleys and parks in different parts of the city.