(AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT) – From October 2019 to October 2020, there were 91,862 estimated overdose deaths in the U.S., which represents a 30% increase in 12 months. Certain states had an even higher year-over-year increase, including Kentucky, with overdose deaths increasing 53.1%, and West Virginia, with a 48.4% increase.
Opioids, including oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine, accounted for the majority of deaths – 68,399 – followed by synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl and tramadol.
Epidemiologist Chelsea Shover of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, speaking with BuzzFeed News, said, “Things were on a bad trajectory before, and now it has gotten even worse. … I can’t think of a way the pandemic made things better. The simple fact that people are more isolated, and more likely alone when they overdose, means they can’t get help.”
