Overdose Deaths Hit Record In U.S. During Pandemic

The proliferation of fentanyl is one reason some experts don't expect any substantial decline in drug overdose deaths this year.

Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government reported Wednesday. That estimate far eclipses the high of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths reached the previous year and amounts to a 29% increase. “This is a staggering loss of human life,” said Brandon Marshall, a Brown University public health researcher who tracks overdose trends.