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The United States recorded 91,799 overdose deaths in 2020, a figure that represents an annual increase of nearly 30% and of which there were record highs among black, white, and Native American and Alaskan communities, health officials said Tuesday.
The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) specified that 26,625 deaths were noted among the white population, which represented an increase of 22 % compared to 2019.
Among African-Americans, that increase stood at 44%, to 7,467; among Native Americans and Alaska Natives, it reached 39%, to 456, and among Hispanics 21%, to 3,081 deaths.
The CDC, which carries out its analysis with data from 25 states in the country and the District of Columbia, considered that the difficulties in accessing prevention and recovery treatments due to pandemic closures probably contributed to this O.D. spike.
Fentanyl, a synthetic drug 100 times more potent than morphine, is responsible for most of the increase in deaths.
