BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - After three years of declining opioid-related deaths in Erie County, officials announced a sharp increase in the number of people who died because of an overdose in 2020.
Last year, there were 232 confirmed opioid overdose deaths in Erie County and potentially 17 more that are still awaiting confirmation. This represents a 49% increase from 2019, when 156 people died due to an overdose.
"We've really lost some ground here," Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein said.
The battle against opioid-related deaths has been an ongoing fight in the community. 2016 was the worst year for overdose deaths in Erie County after 301 people died. Each of the next three years saw a steady decline until last year's numbers were released. While Burstein credited the community banding together and county programming as reasons why fewer people died from the disease, she also cited the pandemic and the increased usage of cocaine laced with fentanyl as driving factors in last year's spike.
"They're alone either because they're unemployed or because they're working at home and they're bored," Burstein said. "They may be using cocaine as a stimulant, like something to do and kill time and feel good and self-medicate. They may be unaware there is fentanyl on board and they may overdose."
Officials were also alarmed at the number of non-fatal overdoses. Last year, there were 906 reported non-fatal overdoses compared to 636 the year prior. These overdose numbers do not include people who did not call first responders to report an overdose.
Despite increased isolation and concerns about pandemic stress, county officials reported fewer suicides in 2020 compared to years past. There was a 10% decrease in suicides last year compared to 2019, something Burstein said is a credit to the work by crisis services.
Erie County on Wednesday introduced a program called "NaloxTrac", a tool that can track where naloxone boxes are. Naloxone is a substance used to treat someone who overdosed on fentanyl.
Currently, people looking to seek services related to opioids are limited in meeting with health professionals. Burstein said virtual services are available because of COVID-19 and she believed this is the "new normal" of health care.
"We think some of this will continue to stick even after the pandemic is over," Burstein said. "We don't have any direct plans to offering in-person, face-to-face services. We are still offering face-to-face virtual services, which I think are still very effective."
While coronavirus has claimed the lives of 18 people under the age of 40 in Erie County over the last year, more than 100 people under age 40 have died from an opioid dose. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the opioid epidemic has been terrible for the younger demographic.
"It's been something we've been dealing with for a number of years now," Poloncarz said. "Watching individuals in the prime of their lives, including teenagers, die from overdoses. But especially 20, 30, and 40 year olds, it's been a problem for a number of years now."
Burstein said, though, there's been an increase in people who are middle aged dying from an overdose but stressed that the opioid epidemic affects people of all ages.
Erie County's 24/7 addiction hotline is (716) 831-7007. More information about Erie County's Opioid Task Force can be found here
