However, overdose deaths remain higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The estimated number of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. have been dropping for months and are now at their lowest levels in three years, according tofor the first time in five years in 2023, following a steady rise during the pandemic. However, the current number of overdose deaths still remains higher than pre-pandemic levels.
While experts continue to explore possible reasons driving the decline, there are a few public health initiatives to curb drug overdoses that may be showing signs of success., expanded treatment programs for opioid use disorder, and increased public awareness about the dangers of synthetic opioids like fentanyl are likely playing significant roles in saving lives,” said Dr. John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News medical contributor.
In this April 23, 2024, file photo, an exhibitor shows attendees a rapid fentanyl detection test during the Multilateral Conference on Synthetic Drugs in Mexico City.“We're seeing this pattern kind of happening that looks a lot like a change in the drug supply, more so than just explained by all the interventions in the public health space,” Dasgupta added. “It's probably a mix of all these things at the end of the day, but something really changed in the third quarter of last year.
Changes in drug overdose deaths also vary greatly by state, with some still experiencing increases in the past 12 months, CDC data shows. States with the greatest dips in overdose deaths over the past year, according to the same data, were Nebraska, North Carolina, Vermont, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, in that descending order.In this Jan.
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