Suicides decreased during pandemic, defying expectations, while drug overdoses increased Print this article
Suicides declined in 2020, according to new data from the National Center for Health Statistics.
The finding on suicides is something of a surprise, given the considerable concern among many medical professionals that the isolation caused by the coronavirus pandemic would lead to a rise in people killing themselves.
The same data, though, also show a large increase in drug and alcohol overdoses.
The data, published in the
Journal of the American Medical Association, show 44,834 suicides in 2020, a drop of 5.6% from 2019, when 47,511 suicides occurred.
During the pandemic, medical professionals have been worried about a possible rise in suicides, especially among younger people. Across the country, we re hearing that there are increased numbers of serious suicidal attempts and suicidal deaths, Dr. Susan Duffy, a professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at Brown
Salvage: Combating the rise of ODs in Cayuga County during COVID-19 auburnpub.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from auburnpub.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Wareham Police program targets addiction, not addicts
“We needed to do something,” she said.
But the “Wareham Fighting Against Addiction Drop-In Center,” opened at the Church of the Good Shepherd on High Street a little over three years ago, has been closed due to COVID.
Alfonso and Bill Pimental were instrumental in starting the addiction drop-in center and have continued to work on the community’s addiction problem as best they could.
Now an ally in their fight against addiction has appeared: the Wareham Police Dept.
“Bill and I have been doing things on the back end and then Wareham PD came to us and said we need to do something with the community. So we came up with this program.”
John Minchillo/AP Photos
Drug overdose deaths hit record levels last year with more than 81,000 fatalities, according to the CDC.
Fentanyl, involved in most of the deaths, is now sweeping the western US with a 98% rise in 10 states.
The synthetic opioid is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more than heroin.
US drug overdose deaths hit record levels last year with more than 81,000 fatalities, according to the CDC. Fentanyl was involved in almost all of them and the dangerous drug is now sweeping the western states, agitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) told Insider: Fentanyl has been found mixed with many other drugs. People who buy drugs such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA are frequently not aware that these may be laced with fentanyl.
Wareham Police Dept joins addiction fight; Drop in Center opening at Grace Lighthouse Church wickedlocal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wickedlocal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.