Opioid overdose rates surged during pandemic, Comptroller says

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Westchester DA Miriam Rocah is launching a program to reduce drug prosecutions.

POUGHKEEPSIE – New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli issued his report on overdose rates on Tuesday and the results show that drug overdose fatalities surges statewide during the pandemic.  Opioid-related overdose deaths increased by 68 percent between 2019 and 2021, taking the lives of nearly 5,000 New Yorkers.

Speaking of the report, Comptroller DiNapoli said, “The data shows our battle against drug overdose deaths is far from over. State leaders must ensure an ongoing commitment of public resources and strategies, including new funding from legal settlements, and innovative, evidence-based solutions for the fight against this deadly epidemic to be effective.”

With limited statistical data available from the CDC, 15 counties in the state were analyzed.  The highest overdose rate in the 15 counties was in Dutchess County, where more than 43 people per 100,000 died of drug overdoses in 2020.  There are approximately 297,000 residents in Dutchess County.

Key takeaways from the report:

  • The share of drug overdose deaths in the state involving opioids increased to 85% in both 2020 and 2021 from 69% in 2010.
  • In 2021, 30 New Yorkers per 100,000 died from drug overdoses and 25 per 100,000 New Yorkers died from opioid overdoses, compared to five in 2010. New York’s opioid overdose death rates exceeded national rates in both 2020 and 2021.
  • Fatalities grew across all racial and ethnic groups. Death rates increased five-fold for Black New Yorkers, quadrupled for Hispanic or Latino New Yorkers, and nearly tripled for White New Yorkers. In 2020, death rates were highest for White New Yorkers at 28.7 per 100,000 people.
  • In 2020, drug overdose death rates were higher than the statewide average (25.4 per 100,000) in 10 of the 15 counties for which Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data is available. Due to low death counts in most counties resulting in privacy and statistical reliability concerns, CDC data is only available for certain counties. The highest rate was in Dutchess County, where over 43 per 100,000 people died of drug overdoses, followed by Niagara County, the Bronx, and Monroe County.

“The shocking news in State Comptroller DiNapoli’s report on overdose deaths between 2019 and 2021 simply reconfirms the need for an all-out effort to mitigate this crisis,” said State Senator Pete Harckham (D-South Salem), chair of the New York State Senate Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. The senator is calling for additional resources for treatment recovery and prevention initiatives.

The entire 24-page report on drug overdoses issued by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli can be found here.




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