05/18/2022
Opioid overdose deaths have steadily climbed in Texas, rising from 4,154 deaths in 2020 to 4,831 deaths in 2021, according to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. Provisional NCHS data indicates there were an estimated 100,306 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2021, an increase of 28.5% from 2020.
A growing opioid epidemic that has seen increases in overdoses and deaths nationwide has been exacerbated in Harris County due to strained access to treatment and other factors during the COVID-19 pandemic, local officials said.