DETROIT — Drug overdose deaths — the majority involving fentanyl — increased 16% between 2019 and 2020, according to data released Friday by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The increase is not a surprise, as preliminary figures from MDHHS and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have long indicated that drug overdose deaths are skyrocketing, surpassing previous records. Instead, the increase is a reminder that the state and the nation are combatting two public health crises at the same time: COVID-19 and illicit drugs.
Experts have blamed the increasing potency of drugs and the stress of the coronavirus pandemic for the increase in deaths.
Here's the breakdown for Michigan's 2020 overdose deaths:
Of 2,738 drug overdose deaths, 2,171 were opioid-related, representing a 23% increase in opioid-related overdose deaths from 2019. MDHHS said 88% of the deaths involved a synthetic opioid, which is almost always fentanyl.
In 2020, the largest increase in drug overdose deaths occurred during the month of may. Deaths increased 41% from the previous month.
The 2020 figures showed a disparity in deaths along racial lines.
The age-adjusted opioid overdose death rate for all Michigan residents was 22.7 per 100,000 residents, up from 18.2 per 100,000 in 2019.
The age-adjusted opioid overdose death rate for white residents was 20.6 deaths per 100,000, compared to 17.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2019.
The age-adjusted opioid overdose death rate for Black residents was 37.5 deaths per 100,000, up from 29.1 deaths per 100,000 in 2019.
The age-adjusted opioid overdose death rate for Hispanic residents, was 22.3 deaths per 100,000, up from 15 deaths per 100,000 in 2020.
Preliminary data from the CDC shows that 100,000 people died from drug overdoses during the 12 months ending in April 2021. According to that data, more than 2,900 people in Michigan died of drug overdoses during that same time period.
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