Drug overdose deaths rise sharply in New York in 2020
'30.04.2021'
Lyudmila Balabay
Along with the COVID-19 pandemic, another epidemic is gaining momentum in New York - overdose deaths. Many are escaping the difficulties of isolation with the help of alcohol and drugs, which leads to an increase in the number of deaths, writes ABC7NY.
Data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner show that overdose deaths increased 2020% in 21 compared to 2019.
“We can move from a critical COVID-19 patient to a critical overdose patient. And so several times in one shift, call after call. This is a typical day for us, ”said FDNY paramedic James O'Neill.
He works in Harlem and Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan. O'Neill says that on some days he received up to three overdose calls in one shift.
“Over the past year, we have seen an increase in such cases day by day,” O'Neill said. - During one shift, we can receive several calls about overdose. It's hard to see people struggling with addiction, especially during a pandemic. "
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Paramedics have noted not only an increase in the number of calls, but also the need to use more drugs to save these patients. They use more naloxone, a medication that can help stop the negative effects of an overdose on the body. They use it on more patients and increase the dose per person because the drugs become more powerful and cause more aggressive overdoses.
Most of the overdose deaths in New York last year were due to so-called acute fentanyl intoxication.
“It used to be called a horse tranquilizer,” said Roy Keers, vice president of rehabilitation services at Samaritan Daytop Village.
He not only runs a rehabilitation service, but he himself has conquered drug addiction in the past.
Kearse says the city did a great job in the fight against drugs before COVID-19, but the pandemic has closed people in their homes, they have nowhere to go for help, so the problem has risen with renewed vigor.
In 2019, there were 1 drug overdose deaths in New York City, 463 more than in 11. Absolute figures for 2018 have not yet been announced.
