By A. Kim | February 16, 2021 | 3:17pm EST (Getty Images) (CNS News) -- A health advisory released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in mid-December revealed that the largest increase in drug overdose deaths in the United States occurred from March to May 2020, which coincided “with the implementation of widespread mitigation measures for the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the health agency. In its advisory, “Increase in Fatal Drug Overdoses Across the United States Driven by Synthetic Opioids Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” the CDC said it was alerting public health departments, health care professionals, first responders, and other medical experts about “a concerning acceleration of the increase in drug overdose deaths, with the largest increase recorded from March 2020 to May 2020, coinciding with the implementation of widespread mitigation measures for the COVID-19 pandemic.”