US overdoses have fallen sharply in recent months, a hopeful shift in trends

Federal data shows that overdose deaths in the United States are the lowest they’ve been in three years, and a new analysis suggests that some downward trends indicate “unprecedented” progress in the fight against the drug epidemic.

Federal data shows that overdose deaths in the United States are the lowest they’ve been in three years, and a new analysis suggests that some downward trends indicate “unprecedented” progress in the fight against the drug epidemic. Overdose deaths soared during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, jumping 30% between 2019 and 2020 and another 16% by the end of 2021, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the latest provisional data shows that overdose deaths made a sharp turn at the end of last year and have been trending down for months. There were about 101,000 overdose deaths in the year ending in April, CDC estimates. There are still far more lives being lost now than before the pandemic – in 2019, there were about 72,000 fatal overdoses – but the latest data shows that deaths dropped a marked 10% in one year and are the lowest they’ve been since the spring of 2021. A steep drop in deaths from fentanyl is a key factor driving the overall decline. Overdose deaths involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are down 20% year-over-year, CDC data shows. These drugs are now involved in about two-thirds of all fatal overdoses, down from more than three-quarters of all overdose deaths a year ago. “An opportunity to feel hopeful after so many years of watching the death toll tick up and up is wonderful,” said Dr. Sarah Wakeman, senior medical director for substance use disorder at Mass General Brigham. “I think also it’s important to note that there are still more people dying from overdose than before the pandemic, and we’re still stratospherically higher than we should be in terms of people dying from a preventable cause of death.”