State Health Data shows deaths from opioid overdoses have dropped significantly this year.
Numbers through October of this year show 125 Iowans have died from opioid overdoses and the state is on track to see a significant drop in deaths as compared to 2023. Gabbie Ruggiero with Polk County Behavioral Health and Disability Services says the reason is unclear, but local programs report an increase in the use of opioid overdose-reversal drugs. “They can’t seem to fill them fast enough that people will take that naloxone before they’re able to get back and fill them up,” she says.
Ruggiero says that indicates those drugs are being used. “So based on that, the high utilization of the programs, we know that there is a need, and folks are utilizing Naloxone, which means that we’re probably seeing an increase in non-fatal overdoses,” Ruggiero says.
The Centers for Disease Control reports drug overdoses overall decreased nationally last year for the first time since 2018.
(By Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)