New York City experienced a significant increase in drug overdoses over the course of 2021, with fentanyl being the drug detected in the majority of cases, according to data released Thursday.
Figures released by the city’s Health Department indicate that 2,668 people died of drug overdoses in 2021, a 78% increase over 2019 and a 27% increase over 2020.
“These deaths are heartbreaking and many, if not most, are entirely preventable,” Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said in a statement. “As a city, we must use all the evidence-based tools at our disposal to reach people with services and, above all, support and compassion.”
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Used needles are seen on the street during a sweep of the city of a homeless encampment in New York City. In 2021, the city saw a nearly 80% increase in drug overdose deaths, officials said Thursday.
(Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Fentanyl, an opioid 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, was detected in 80% of drug overdose deaths in 2021, health officials said. It was also the most common substance involved in such deaths in the city for the fifth consecutive year.
Much of the fentanyl entering the United States comes from Mexico with chemicals coming from China, border officials said.
Across all five boroughs, the Bronx had the highest overdose death rates in 2021. Residents in the Hunts Point-Mott Haven, Crotona-Tremont and Highbridge-Morrisania neighborhoods had the highest overdose death rates in the entire town.
New Yorkers between the ages of 55 and 64 and residents in poorer areas also experienced high rates and large increases in overdose deaths. Black New Yorkers had the highest rate of overdose deaths, the data shows.
In the first nine months of 2022, the administration of Mayor Eric Adams distributed more than 32,000 fentanyl test strips to more than 5,500 people and launched a pilot drug check program at needle service programs to quickly detect substances such as xylazine that may be in the drug supply.
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“As a society, stigma, shame and fear have made the situation worse and delayed the deployment of proven solutions,” said Health Commissioner Vasan. “We must use these worsening outcomes to combat this fear and care for people where they are, and our team is working on an expanded response plan to continue fighting this crisis. This is what moral leadership looks like and what It’s the moment”. demands.”
