Health Officials Want Permanent Pandemic Flexibility as Overdoses Climb

Researchers say they recently discovered a grim consequence of the pandemic: overdose death rates climbed dramatically. The United States saw overdose fatalities increase 50%, with 107,000 people dying in 2021. The biggest spikes happened among American Indian and Native Americans and black Americans. Among adolescents, overdoses more than doubled. Federal regulatory changes during the pandemic, however, granted more flexibility that some health professionals and advocates want to keep in place permanently.