The rate of drug overdose deaths has slowed from record-high levels, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The  that there have been 107,735 predicted overdose deaths in the 12-month period that ended on July 2022.
If the numbers are confirmed, this would be the ninth month in a row that the rate of increasing overdose deaths has slowed, and the fourth month in a row that there has been a decrease in 12-month rolling totals, the Ìý°Â±ð»å²Ô±ð²õ»å²¹²â.
The highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded was for the 12-month period ending in March 2022: Provisional data estimated that there had been over 110,000 deaths in that period. The new numbers from the CDC mark a 2.27% decrease from that high.
However, overdose deaths still remain shockingly high: According to the CDC, drug overdose deaths rose by , when 91,799 people died. The increase in overdose deaths has been attributed to the impact of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, in the nation’s . The CDC has also in methamphetamine-related deaths and polysubstance use.
Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, that President Biden’s administration remains focused on “getting more people with addiction connected to the care they need” and preventing fatal overdoses with , a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, as well as targeting drug distributors. The administration also recently that will track non-fatal overdoses.
“To strengthen our Nation’s response, this past week, we launched a first-of-its-kind data dashboard to track non-fatal overdoses – a leading predictor for a future fatal overdose – that will help first responders, service providers, and policymakers save lives. All of these actions are critical to beating the overdose epidemic,” Gupta said.
According , there have been over 175,000 non-fatal overdoses in the past 365 days, marking a 2% decrease nationwide.
