WSWS – West Virginia, the national epicenter of the opioid crisis for the past decade, saw its fatal overdose rate spike by at least 45 percent in 2020 according to data from the state Office of the Chief Medical Officer. The increase is a reversal of two years of declining drug deaths and marks a new record as drug companies responsible for dumping millions of opioids into the state fight lawsuits in West Virginia. Read the full article.
Preliminary figures show at least 1,275 residents died of overdoses last year, up from 878 in 2019. The new numbers could rise as more autopsies are completed.
Statewide, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported April 26, “15 counties at least doubled their number of fatal overdoses between 2019 and 2020. Only eight saw drops. Of those eight, none saw decreases of more than five cases.” Of the 1,275 fatal overdoses, 955 involved fentanyl.
