Year’s 87,000 overdose deaths most ever

WASHINGTON — More than 87,000 Americans died of drug overdoses over the 12-month period that ended in September, according to preliminary federal data, eclipsing the toll from any year since the opioid epidemic began in the 1990s.

The preliminary data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a 29% rise in overdose deaths from October 2019 through September 2020 — the most recent data available — compared with the previous 12-month period. Illicitly manufactured fentanyl and other synthetic opioids were the primary drivers, although many fatal overdoses also have involved stimulant drugs, particularly methamphetamine.

Deaths from overdoses started rising again in the months leading up to the coronavirus pandemic — after dropping slightly in 2018 for the first time in decades. Officials said that while it is hard to gauge just how closely the two phenomena are linked, the pandemic exacerbated the trend, which grew much worse last spring when the biggest jump in overdose deaths took place in April and May, when fear and stress were rampant as job losses multiplied and strict lockdown measures took effect.

Many treatment programs closed during that time, at least temporarily, and “drop-in centers” that provide support, clean syringes and naloxone, the medication that reverses overdoses, cut back services.