Drug Overdose Deaths in Mississippi

Up 52.3% from April 2020 to April 2021

Written by Larry L. Smith, Ph. D.

The National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Vital Statistics Rapid Release of Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts at the US and State level. Based on data available for analysis on November 7, 2021 the percent change in the United States from April 2021 to April 2021 was +27.2% (reported data), and predicted data was +28.5%. The data for Mississippi had a predicted case change from April 2020 to April 2021 at +49.9% and the reported cases from April 2020 to April 2021 increased by +52.3% (407 to 670 deaths).

During the past 24 months the added isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic along with social distancing, the economic uncertainty of the future and the increased lack of access to treatment facilities and providers has most likely added to the number of drug overdose deaths. Isolation is one of the major contributing factors that influence addictive behavior. The number of overdose deaths in the US reached an all-time high of 93,331 in 2020. This is the largest single percentage increase in over 21 years.

Source: NCHS, National Vital Statistics System. Estimates for 2020 and 2021 are based on provisional data. Estimates for 2015-2019 are based on final data (available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality_public_use_data.htm).

The Center for Mississippi Health Policy is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization that provides objective information to inform health policy decisions.