US reaches record high of more than 96,000 drug overdose deaths in a 12-month period, CDC data show
CNN
Reported drug overdose deaths in the United States hit a new high of more than 96,000 in the 12-month period ending March 2021, according to data released Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
In that 12 months -- a period when Covid-19 pandemic took hold in the United States and shut down normal daily routines -- the US saw 96,779 reported drug overdose deaths, an increase of 29.6% from March 2020 to March 2021. The numbers released Wednesday are provisional data, as drug overdose deaths require "lengthy investigation" to be recorded, according to the CDC.
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