National Vital Statistics Reports
Introduction
Deaths from drug overdoses are a major public health concern in the United States (1,2), particularly in the working age population (1). The drug overdose death rate increased in most years from 1999 through 2020 (3). This trend intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic; the U.S. drug overdose death rate in 2021 was 50% higher than in 2019 (1). Increases in drug overdose deaths in 2020 and 2021 contributed to the overall rise in deaths involving drug overdose, suicide, or alcohol abuse during the pandemic (4).
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