COVID-19 is the public health emergency that dominates the headlines, but it isn’t the only one. The opioid epidemic was raging for several years before COVID and is still going strong. Despite numerous years spent addressing the problem, this public health crisis is now worse than ever.
Opioid deaths have risen steadily over the past 20 years. And since the emergence of COVID, abuse and fatalities have only grown faster. Data indicates 93,000 opioid overdose deaths in 2020 compared to 70,000 deaths a year earlier—a 30 percent increase.
