US Overdose Deaths Spiked During Pandemic Biggest Rise in Black and Latinx Communities

May 31, 2021

(Medscape) – U.S. overdose deaths increased by 42% overall in 2020 compared with 2018 and 2019, a new study of Emergency Medical Services records suggests. The analysis of data gathered from the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) found a spike in overdose-related cardiac arrests during the pandemic with the greatest increases seen among Latinx (49.7%) and African American (50.3%) individuals, researchers report in JAMA Psychiatry. (Read Full Article)