There was a big spike in opioid deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Massachusetts, where fatal drug overdoses had been declining year-to-year, there was a 5 percent increase in 2020. Overdose death rates for Black men increased 69 percent.
Recently, Jessica Collins, director of the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts participated in roundtable with other health care leaders and Democratic U.S. Senator Ed Markey.
They discussed treatment and the public health response to the opioid crisis.
WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Collins.
