EDITORIAL: No masking the opioid epidemic that's destroying lives

Jul. 18—The coronavirus pandemic stole the spotlight in 2020, but it was not the only epidemic threatening lives.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the opioid crisis didn't just fade into the background while people worried about masks, respirators and social distancing.

The 2020 numbers hit a record 93,000 — 24% of the death toll from covid-19. The figure is a whopping 29% higher than 2019's drug overdose fatalities, representing 21,000 more lives lost.

Those numbers are nationwide. Does the same hold true in Pennsylvania? Unfortunately, it does.

Pennsylvania's higher body count is not as dramatic as the U.S. average. The 5,172 overdose deaths in 2020 were 728 more than 2019 — a 16% increase. The Keystone State shouldn't feel too cocky about that. The state has been on the high end of overdose deaths for years, and 2020 didn't set records in Pennsylvania.

What the year does do is show holes in attempts to address opioid addiction and overdoses.

The deaths have been dropping steadily for several years as the state has made it easier for overdoses to be treated quickly and easily by first responders. Ambulance crews, police, almost anyone who has contact with populations likely to experience an overdose have been given access to naloxone, the opioid antidote that can arrest the narcotic's effects.

However, as the numbers have dropped, drug addiction workers and medical professionals have cautioned that the epidemic was not over. Tim Phillips, executive director of the Westmoreland County Drug Overdose Task Force, has said the numbers were more about the availability of the antidote than the treatment of the disease. The 2020 numbers would seem to bear that out.

During the pandemic, with people not socializing and restrictions cutting down where they could congregate, there were not overdoses at clubs or bars. There were not the same parties or gatherings that could end in tragedy. But tragedy came anyway. It just often came quietly, at home or somewhere alone.

It came because you can't just put a bandage on a mortal wound. That can be a place to start — the first aid that is offered on the battlefield of a war, but the victim has to receive substantial treatment as quickly and as completely as possible to prevent the worst from happening.

Too much of the opioid response has relied on the bandage of naloxone availability to stop an overdose from becoming fatal. The greater task is to invest enough time and money into making sure that enough drug rehabilitation opportunities are available.

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