Published on: Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Drug-overdose deaths in the U.S. surged nearly 30% in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The estimated 93,331 deaths from drug overdoses last year, a record high, represent the sharpest annual increase in at least three decades, and compare with an estimated toll of 72,151 deaths in 2019, according to provisional overdose-drug data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (article available here).

The pandemic amplified the epidemic of overdoses, bringing on social isolation, trauma and job losses, according to addiction experts and treatment providers.