BOSTON (WHDH) - Opioid-related overdose deaths in the Bay State ticked up in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same time last year, according to the new data released Wednesday by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
There were 1,613 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths, approximately 21 more deaths than in the first nine months of 2020, or a one percent increase, the data indicated.
Health officials noted that Black non-Hispanic men made up the largest increase in opioid overdose death rates.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated substance misuse not only in Massachusetts, but across the country. Our Administration has continued to tackle both the opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on equity,” Gov. Charlie Baker said in a statement.
The Baker-Polito Administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget includes a total investment of $408 million across various state agencies to address substance misuse.
Fentanyl continues to be the main driver of opioid-related overdose deaths in the state, health officials said. Cocaine is the next most prevalent drug. The rate of heroin being linked to opioid-related deaths has been declining since 2014.
There were a total of 2,106 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2020, marking a five percent increase over the previous year and just shy of the 2016 peak of 2,110 deaths, data showed.
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