NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Wednesday.
Agency officials noted the data is provisional and could change after more analysis, but that they still expect a drop when the final counts are in. It would be only the second annual decline since the current national drug death epidemic began more than three decades ago.
Experts reacted cautiously. One described the decline as relatively small, and said it should be thought more as part of a leveling off than a decrease. Another noted that the last time a decline occurred — in 2018 — drug deaths shot up in the years that followed.
“Any decline is encouraging,” said Brandon Marshall, a Brown University researcher who studies overdose trends. “But I think it’s certainly premature to celebrate or to draw any large-scale conclusions about where we may be headed long-term with this crisis.”
Travis Kelce downs whiskey shot on slice of bread at Kelce Jam without Taylor Swift
2 skiers killed after being caught in Utah avalanche following late spring snowstorms, sheriff says
Homeless woman was living inside Michigan rooftop store sign with computer and coffee maker
Sudanese paramilitary forces have carried out ethnic cleansing in Darfur, rights group says
Election 2024: Biden and Trump bypassed the Commission on Presidential Debates
I spent hundreds on my daughter's birthday party and no one came
How long will your cat live? Eerie charts predict the life expectancy of popular breeds
Kate Hudson performs music on the Howard Stern show as she cites Madonna as her hero
Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf is spotted on the streets of Gavin and Stacey's hometown Barry
Maine man sentenced to 27 years in prison in New Year's Eve machete attack near Times Square
Jon Wysocki dead at 53: Staind drummer passes away
Sudanese paramilitary forces have carried out ethnic cleansing in Darfur, rights group says