April 16, 2021

COVID-19 and the Drug Overdose Crisis: Uncovering the Deadliest Months in the United States, January-July 2020

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Public Health Policy and Practice

Keywords (Tags): public health

• An estimated 9,000 people in the US died from drug overdose in May 2020, representing a 58% increase over May 2019. The largest number of deaths occurred in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Monthly deaths and pandemic-related spikes were estimated by disaggregating provisional CDC data that were aggregated into 12-month rolling sums.

Friedman and Akre. (Apr 15, 2021). COVID-19 and the Drug Overdose Crisis: Uncovering the Deadliest Months in the United States, January-July 2020. American Journal of Public Health. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306256