Overdose death rates surged among Black, American Indian and Alaska Native individuals in 2020, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday.
The data, from 25 states and the District of Columbia, show the overdose death rate increased 44% for Black people and 39% for American Indian and Alaska Native people from 2019.
The overdose death rate has ballooned in other demographics as well. White people saw a 24% increase in overdose death rates.
The CDC said the increase in deaths was largely driven by illegally produced fentanyl and fentanyl analogs.
The US recorded 91,799 drug overdose deaths in 2020, about a 30% increase from 2019, according to the CDC.
This troubling increase came as the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted access to prevention and treatment services and harm reduction initiatives. Officials believe this “likely contributed” to this rise in overdose deaths.
There are stark racial disparities in overdose deaths. The overdose mortality rate among Black males aged 65 years and up was about seven times that of white males in this same age group.
Overdose deaths among Black people aged 15 to 24 increased by 86%.
American Indian and Alaska Native women between the ages of 25 and 44 experienced an overdose death rate about twice that of white women in the same age cohort.
The research also determined that opioid overdose rates were higher in places that had greater availability of opioid treatment programs, compared with areas with fewer treatment options.
“Higher availability of treatment services does not mean improved access to care,” the CDC said. “The known differences in access, barriers to care, and healthcare mistrust could play a role in exacerbating inequities even when treatment is available in the community.”
Dr Debra Houry, CDC acting principal deputy director, said: “The increase in overdose deaths and widening disparities are alarming. Overdose deaths are preventable, and we must redouble our efforts to make overdose prevention a priority.”
