Digital Desk, Washington. A media report citing final figures from the US National Center for Health Statistics said more than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in April amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first time the number of drug overdose deaths in the US has exceeded 100,000 in a year, nearly 30 from 78,000 deaths in the previous year, Xinhua news agency quoted The New York Times report as saying. The percentage is high.
The report said overdose deaths have more than doubled since 2015. This has been caused by an increase in mental health problems and the widespread availability of dangerously potent street drugs. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said the death had a lasting impact, as most of those who died were aged between 25 and 55. According to experts, all but four of the 50 US states have seen an increase in drug overdoses.
The number of deaths from drugs has now surpassed those from guns, car accidents and the flu. The largest increase in overdose deaths was reported in Vermont, where the number of fatalities rose 70 percent to 209. Vermont is followed by West Virginia (62 percent) and Kentucky (55 percent).