Tablets believed to be laced with fentanyl are displayed at the Drug Enforcement Administration Northeast Regional Laboratory in New York. Photo: Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images
The acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Regina LaBelle, on Thursday said that drug deaths increased by 26.8% during the coronavirus pandemic.
What she's saying: "We lost 88,000 people in the 12-month period ending in August 2020," LaBelle said, according to NPR.
- "Illicitly manufactured fentanyl and synthetic opioids are the primary drivers of this increase."
By the numbers: That is almost 20,000 more drug overdose deaths than reported in 2019, which saw 70,630 deaths, per the CDC.
- Nearly 841,000 people have died from a drug overdose since 1999, the CDC notes. Rates have been on the rise annually since then, the Independent reports.
- Opioids remain the main cause of drug overdose fatalities, accounting for 70.6% of drug deaths in 2019.
LeBelle also revealed a plan designed by the Biden administration to help address "the overdose and addiction crisis" during its first year, saying that "new data suggest that COVID-19 has exacerbated the epidemic."
- The administration will look to remove "unnecessary barriers" that prevent the prescription of buprenorphine — a drug proven to help patients with opioid use disorder, per NPR.
- It plans to explore making the emergency provisions implemented during the pandemic permanent, including allowing health officials to treat patients with medication for opioid use disorder through telehealth without requiring in-person visits.
- The White House plans to establish policy to help pregnant women suffering from substance abuse to get prenatal care and addiction treatment.
- The plan says President Biden believes people should not be incarcerated for drug abuse, and should instead be offered treatment.