Pandemic brought a 10-year high in opioid OD deaths
Pandemic lockdowns added stress, took away coping mechanisms.
Ohio opioid overdose deaths surged during the second quarter of 2020, making it the deadliest three-month period since the opioid epidemic began, according to a new state study.
The death rate from opioid overdoses increased to 11.01 per 100,000 people during the second quarter of 2020. Previously, the highest rate was 10.87 overdoses per 100,000 reported in the first quarter of 2017, according to a study by a task force created by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
“Opioid overdoses might have taken a backseat in our minds last year because of COVID-19, but make no mistake: Ohioans are dying at a devastating rate because of opioid overdoses,” Yost said.
The jump in opioid overdose deaths, which began in April, came after the state’s stay-athome order and after the state had seen a drop in the death rate, which had fallen to six to
eight deaths per 100,000 people over the last two years.
Anita Kitchen, executive director with the local Families of Addicts, said “the month of April was absolutely crazy for us because so many people didn’t know what to do with their loved ones.”
The jail had been releasing some people to lower the population but at the same time recovery homes were cutting back on capacity and some services were in flux or shifting to online as the pandemic struck and social distancing measures kicked in. The Dayton-based nonprofit hired a member who was out of a job to pick up peo
director of the Ohio American Academy of Pediatrics
■ Dr. Mamle Anim, chief medical officer for Five Rivers Health Centers
■ Dr. Thomas Hirt, family practice physician at PriMED Centerville
Among other topics, the panelists will discuss the safety and efficacy of the two federally approved coronavirus vaccines produced by
Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech; how Ohio and Dayton-area institutions are working to speed up distribution and how those same institutions are educating the public on the vaccine.
“We know how our community is working hard to get clear information about the vaccine availability and safety and we hope our coverage and conversations like this help people get real answers on when the vaccine will be available to their family,” Bebbington said.