Issue Category: Infectious Disease

Trust for America’s Health Applauds COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force Report

Addressing health inequities is critical to protecting everyone’s health and being prepared for future health public emergencies

(Washington, DC – November 10, 2021) – Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) applauds the report of the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, including its recommendations to President Biden for mitigating the health inequities caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and for preventing such inequities in the future. We furthermore commend the Biden Administration  for responding to the report’s call to action with new investments in initiatives to improve community and public health in traditionally under-resourced communities, including communities of color and among underserved populations.

In January of 2021, the Biden Administration created the Task Force, a multisector group of individuals with expertise and lived experience relevant to groups suffering disproportionate rates of illness and death from COVID-19, experts in fields such as public health, healthcare, behavioral health, and community-based services, as well as government officials. The Task Force represents diverse perspectives on how to address COVID-19 related health and social inequities and strengthen the nation’s public health response.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated longstanding systemic inequities in our nation,” said J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health.  “The COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force has laid out a road map for reducing inequities during this pandemic and before the next public health emergency.  As the report acknowledges, we must engage in a multisector effort to address the upstream factors that contribute to underlying health inequities in order to promote optimal health and build resilience in all communities. TFAH looks forward to working with the administration on our shared goals.”

The Task Force’s report echoes many of TFAH’s policy recommendations. The following are policy priorities shared by the Task Force report and TFAH:

  • Fund the public health workforce and emergency response. The federal government should increase and sustain funding for equity-centered pandemic and public health emergency activities and infrastructure at the federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial levels. This should include building a workforce dedicated to public health emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and disaster-related behavioral health services and supporting communities with the greatest healthcare inequities.
  • Support equity-centered data collection. The federal government should fund an equity-centered approach to data collection, including ensuring sufficient funding to collect data for groups that are experiencing disproportionate impact during the pandemic and to understand the specific needs of currently underserved populations.
  • Fund data modernization for health settings. The federal government should provide funding for healthcare and public health to update data systems centered on equity and to ensure interoperability and automatic electronic lab reporting of a robust set of disaggregated, standardized socioeconomic and demographic data elements.
  • Strengthen multi-sector collaboration. The federal government should strengthen collaboration with a diverse array of community-based organizations and public health providers by providing robust and sustained funding to build capacity, provide technical assistance and establish partnerships with communities of color and other underserved populations.
  • Prioritize vaccine, testing, treatment, and personal protective equipment (PPE) access for underserved communities. Federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments should prioritize vaccine distribution, testing, treatment, and PPE access to communities of color and other underserved populations, including those who face mobility, geographic, or other barriers to access.
  • Address the social determinants of health. The federal government should lead efforts to advance the social determinants of health including nutrition safety net programs for individuals and families who are food insecure and for those that have limited access to healthy food options.
  • Increase access to behavioral healthcare. Federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments should increase investment in and access to comprehensive, equity-centered behavioral health services, including a focus on prevention.
  • Lead and coordinate implementation of the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force’s recommendations from a permanent health equity infrastructure in the White House.

TFAH reports on emergency preparedness, public health funding, leveraging policy to improve Americans’ health and create health equity, and a legislative blueprint to transform the nation’s public health system, include additional recommendations that support the Task Force’s health equity goals.

Annual Deaths Due to Alcohol, Drugs or Suicide Exceeded 156,000 According to the Most Recent Data

Preliminary data shows COVID-19 crisis created higher rates of mental distress, substance use, and drug overdose; 2019 alcohol deaths were higher for every adult age group

(Washington, DC and Oakland, Ca) – May 18, 2021 – Newly released data show that 156,242 Americans died due to alcohol, drugs or suicide in 2019, a record number of such deaths in a single year.  Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic increased stress and related substance use for many Americans.

During 2019, alcohol and drug-induced deaths increased, while suicide rates were slightly lower. Over the last decade, 2009 – 2019, the number of alcohol and drug related and suicide deaths increased by 52 percent.  These data are part of a report releasing today, Pain in the Nation: Alcohol, Drug and Suicide Deaths, the latest in a series of reports tracking the nation’s deaths of despair crisis produced by Trust for America’s Health and Well Being Trust.

Americans dying due to drug-induced causes was five percent higher in 2019 than the previous year, for a total of 74,511 deaths. The data are also beginning to show changes in the most affected population groups.  For many years, the death rate for drug overdoses among whites was substantially higher than other racial groups, data are now showing dramatic increases in drug related deaths for certain populations of color. For the year, drug-induced deaths were up by 15 percent among Latinos and Blacks, 11 percent for American Indians and 10 percent for people of Asian descent. Among whites’ drug-induced deaths rose by 2 percent for the year.

For the first time since 2005, 2019 deaths rates from drugs for Black people was higher than that of whites.

Synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, (up 16%), cocaine (up 8%) and other psychostimulants (e.g., methamphetamine and ecstasy) (up 28%) continue to drive drug-induced deaths higher. Natural/semisynthetic opioids (e.g., Prescription opioids) and heroin overdoses declined for the year.

In 2019, 39,043 Americans died from alcohol-related causes, up 4 percent over 2018.  It was the tenth year in a row that the alcohol death rate increased.  Alcohol deaths were highest among American Indians (31.9 deaths per 100,000 people), adults over 55 (28.3 deaths per 100,000 people) and males (15.2 deaths per 100,000 people). All groups, except children, had a higher rate of alcohol deaths in 2019 compared with 2018 and early 2020 data show that rates of consumption are continuing to increase.

One bright spot in the data is that for the year (2019), the age-adjusted suicide rate declined from 14.2 to 13.9 deaths per 100,000 deaths, a 2 percent decrease. Americans who died by suicide in 2019 totaled 47,511. This decline in suicide deaths was the first since 2005 and is statistically significant. Preliminary 2020 data show a further small decrease in suicides despite the COVID crisis.

States with the highest age-adjusted death rates from alcohol, drugs and suicide combined in 2019 were New Mexico (88 deaths per 100,000 people) and West Virginia (85.1 deaths per 100,000 people).

“These data underscore, yet again, the massive problem we have had on our hands in this country,” said Benjamin Miller, PsyD, Chief Strategy Officer, Well Being Trust. “The trends are clear we are going in the wrong direction. If we are serious about addressing mental health and addiction, we must invest in strategies that are comprehensive and integrated. Incremental tinkering will not change the course or direction sufficiently enough – it’s time for bold leadership to demand more.”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted Americans in almost inconceivable ways including illness, the loss of loved ones, job loss, financial stress, food insecurity, social isolation, and learning loss and the interruption of school-based services for millions of children. These stressors are impacting rates of alcohol and drug use and drug overdose deaths as more people turn to substances to help them cope.

From March 2019 to March 2020, the number of calls to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Disaster Distress Helpline increased by 891 percent.  The U.S. Household Pulse Survey found that the number of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression from April 2020 through March 2021 was triple the number who reported such symptoms in 2019. A June 2020 CDC study found that 13 percent of adults “started or increased substance use to cope with pandemic-related stress or emotions.”

“The drug, alcohol and suicide crisis has been growing for a decade and growing in uneven ways. The COVID crisis has increased stress on all Americans and has worsened the differential impact of health inequities on communities of color. While all Americans need support coping with the pandemic, people who are currently struggling with addiction or a mental health issue need urgent attention,” said John Auerbach, President and CEO Trust for America’s Health.

The report includes policy solutions and recommendations including:

  • Expand programs that support families and communities and reduce traumatic experiences, particularly in childhood.
  • Expand access to substance use prevention programs and mental health and resiliency programs in schools.
  • Tailor prevention and intervention programs for communities of color.
  • Strengthen crisis intervention programs and supports.
  • Increase access to mental health and substance use healthcare through full enforcement of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.
  • Reduce availability of illicit opioids and psychostimulants.
  • Limit access to lethal means of suicide.
  • Expand efforts to combat stigma about mental health issues.
  • Improve mental health data accuracy, completeness and timeliness.
  • Expand the mental health and substance use treatment workforce; promote diversity and culturally informed practices within the workforce.
  • Build community capacity for early identification and intervention with individuals who need mental health care.

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 Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.

Well Being Trust is a national foundation dedicated to advancing the mental, social, and spiritual health of the nation. Created to include participation from organizations across sectors and perspectives, Well Being Trust is committed to innovating and addressing the most critical mental health challenges facing America, and to transforming individual and community well-being. www.wellbeingtrust.org. Twitter: @WellBeingTrust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congressional Briefing: Ready or Not 2021: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism

Ready or Not 2021: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism. A panel of subject matter experts will discuss the nation’s readiness for public health emergencies, examine the findings of the report, and discuss key recommendations for policymakers.

Resources:

Nuevo informe encuentra lagunas en la preparación de los estados para emergencias de salud pública

La COVID-19 muestra daño crítico de subinversión en infraestructura de salud pública

(Washington, DC) — 10 de marzo de 2021 – La pandemia de COVID-19 ha demostrado claramente que la inversión insuficiente en la preparación para responder a emergencias de salud pública puede costar cientos de miles de vidas y causar estragos en la economía. Un nuevo informe publicado hoy por Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) midió el desempeño de los estados en 10 indicadores clave de preparación para emergencias y encontró espacio para mejorar en todas las jurisdicciones.

El informe Ready or Not 2021: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism midió la preparación de los estados para emergencias de salud de cualquier tipo (no solo la crisis del COVID-19).  Este informe colocó a 20 estados y al Distrito de Columbia en una categoría de alto nivel de preparación, 15 estados en un nivel de preparación medio y 15 estados en un nivel de preparación bajo.

Durante casi dos décadas, TFAH ha examinado la preparación para emergencias de salud pública de la nación en este informe anual. Durante ese tiempo, todos los estados han mejorado su preparación para emergencias, pero todos continúan teniendo espacio para un fortalecimiento adicional de sus programas de respuesta de salud pública.

 

Rendimiento estatal, por nivel de puntuación, 2020

Performance Tier States Number of States
High Tier CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, ID, KS, MA, MD, ME, MS, NC, NE, NM, OK, RI, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI 20 states and DC
Middle Tier AL, CA, FL, IA, IL, KY, LA, MI, MN, MT, ND, NJ, OR, TN, TX 15 states
Low Tier AK, AR, AZ, HI, IN, MO, NH, NV, NY, OH, PA, SC, SD, WV, WY 15 states

“La importancia de este informe es que brinda a los estados datos procesables para adoptar políticas que salven vidas. La crisis de COVID-19 muestra que tenemos mucho más trabajo por hacer para proteger a los estadounidenses de las amenazas a la salud, particularmente en las formas en que el racismo estructural crea y exacerba los riesgos para la salud dentro de las comunidades de color ”, dijo John Auerbach, presidente y director ejecutivo de Trust for Salud de Estados Unidos. “Los estados deben tomar medidas enérgicas para apuntalar su preparación para todo tipo de emergencias de salud pública”.

Si bien los hallazgos del informe no son una medida de la respuesta COVID-19 de ningún estado, demuestran que si bien la preparación de los estados es importante, las emergencias de salud nacionales en la escala de una pandemia requieren un liderazgo y una coordinación federales fuertes, e inversiones a largo plazo en salud pública. infraestructura y mano de obra. Los estados por sí solos, incluso aquellos que ocupan un lugar destacado en este informe, no están lo suficientemente equipados para responder a una pandemia sin ayuda federal, dicen los autores del informe.

El informe encontró:

La mayoría de los estados han hecho preparativos para expandir la atención médica y las capacidades de salud pública en una emergencia, a menudo a través de la colaboración. Treinta y cuatro estados participaron en el Nurse Licensure Compact, en comparación con 26 en 2017. El pacto permite a las enfermeras registradas y las enfermeras prácticas o vocacionales con licencia ejercer en múltiples jurisdicciones con una sola licencia. En caso de emergencia, esto permite a los funcionarios de salud aumentar rápidamente sus niveles de personal. Además, los hospitales de la mayoría de los estados tienen un alto grado de participación en coaliciones de salud. En promedio, el 89 por ciento de los hospitales estaban en una coalición y 17 estados y el Distrito de Columbia tenían participación universal, lo que significa que todos los hospitales de la jurisdicción eran parte de una coalición. Dichas coaliciones unen a los hospitales y otras instalaciones de atención médica con la gestión de emergencias y los funcionarios de salud pública para planificar y responder a los incidentes. Finalmente, todos los estados y el Distrito de Columbia tenían laboratorios de salud pública que tenían planes para una gran afluencia de necesidades de pruebas. Esta capacidad de aumentar la capacidad de prueba de laboratorio durante la crisis de COVID-19 fue extremadamente crítica.

La mayoría de los estados están acreditados en las áreas de salud pública, manejo de emergencias o ambos. A diciembre de 2020, la Junta de Acreditación de Salud Pública (PHAB) o el Programa de Acreditación de Gestión de Emergencias (EMAP) acreditaron 42 estados y el Distrito de Columbia; 29 estados y el Distrito de Columbia fueron acreditados por ambos grupos, un aumento neto de uno desde noviembre de 2019. Ambos programas ayudan a garantizar que los sistemas necesarios de preparación y respuesta ante emergencias estén en su lugar y con personal calificado.

Las tasas de vacunación contra la influenza estacional, aunque aún son demasiado bajas, han aumentado significativamente. La tasa de vacunación contra la influenza estacional entre los estadounidenses de 6 meses o más aumentó del 42 por ciento durante la temporada 2017-2018 al 52 por ciento durante la temporada 2018-2019, pero aún está por debajo de la tasa de vacunación objetivo del 70 por ciento establecida por Healthy People 2030.

En 2019, solo el 55 por ciento de los residentes estatales empleados, en promedio, usaron tiempo libre remunerado, el mismo porcentaje que en 2018. Aquellos sin licencia remunerada tienen más probabilidades de trabajar cuando están enfermos y corren el riesgo de propagar la infección. Esto se volvió particularmente relevante durante la pandemia de COVID-19, ya que el aislamiento y la cuarentena son herramientas importantes para controlar el brote.

La mayoría de los residentes que obtuvieron el agua de su hogar a través de un sistema de agua comunitario tenían acceso a agua potable. En promedio, solo el 5 por ciento de los residentes del estado utilizó un sistema de agua comunitario en 2019 que no cumplía con todos los estándares de salud aplicables.

El informe incluye recomendaciones de acciones por parte de los legisladores federales y estatales para mejorar la preparación para emergencias de salud pública de la nación en siete áreas prioritarias:

  • Proporcionar financiación suficiente y estable para la seguridad de la salud pública nacional y mundial.
  • Fortalecer las políticas y los sistemas para prevenir y responder a brotes y pandemias.
  • Construir comunidades resilientes y promover la equidad en salud en general y en la preparación.
  • Asegurar liderazgo, coordinación y fuerza laboral efectivos en salud pública.
  • Acelerar el desarrollo y la distribución, incluida la distribución de última milla, de contramedidas médicas.
  • Fortalecer la capacidad del sistema de salud para responder y recuperarse durante y de emergencias de salud.
  • Prepárese para las amenazas ambientales y el clima extremo.

El informe de la serie Ready or Not está financiado por la Fundación Robert Wood Johnson con el apoyo adicional de The California Endowment, W.K. Fundación Kellogg y Fundación Kresge.

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Trust for America’s Health es una organización no partidista sin fines de lucro que promueve la salud óptima para cada persona y comunidad y hace de la prevención de enfermedades y lesiones una prioridad nacional. Twitter: @HealthyAmerica1

New Report Finds Gaps in States’ Preparedness for Public Health Emergencies

COVID-19 Illuminated critical harm of underinvestment in public health infrastructure

(Washington, DC – March 10, 2021) The COVID-19 pandemic has starkly demonstrated that underinvestment in preparedness to respond to public health emergencies can cost hundreds of thousands of lives and wreak havoc on the economy.  A new report released today by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) measured states’ performance on 10 key emergency preparedness indicators and found room for improvement in every jurisdiction.

The report, Ready or Not 2021: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism measured states’ readiness for health emergencies of any kind (not just the COVID-19 crisis). It placed 20 states and the District of Columbia in a high level of preparedness category, 15 states in a middle preparation tier and 15 states in a low degree of preparation tier.

State performance, by scoring tier, 2020

 Performance Tier States Number of States
High Tier CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, ID, KS, MA, MD, ME, MS, NC, NE, NM, OK, RI, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI 20 states and DC
Middle Tier AL, CA, FL, IA, IL, KY, LA, MI, MN, MT, ND, NJ, OR, TN, TX 15 states
Low Tier AK, AR, AZ, HI, IN, MO, NH, NV, NY, OH, PA, SC, SD, WV, WY 15 states

For nearly two decades, TFAH has examined the nation’s public health emergency preparedness in this annual report. During that time, all states have made improvements in their emergency preparedness, but all continue to have room for additional strengthening of their public health preparedness and response.

“The importance of this report is that it gives states actionable data to adopt policies that save lives. The COVID-19 crisis shows that we have much more work to do to protect Americans from health threats, particularly in the ways in which structural racism create and exacerbate health risks within communities of color,” said John Auerbach, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “States need to take aggressive steps to shore up their preparedness for all types of public health emergencies.”

While the report’s findings are not a measure of any state’s COVID-19 response, they demonstrate that while states’ readiness is important, national health emergencies on the scale of a pandemic require strong federal leadership and coordination, and long-term investment in public health infrastructure and workforce.  States alone, even those that rank high in this report, are not sufficiently equipped to respond to a pandemic without federal help, say the report’s authors.

The report found:

A majority of states have made preparations to expand healthcare and public health capabilities in an emergency, often through collaboration. Thirty-four states participated in the Nurse Licensure Compact, up from 26 in 2017. The compact allows registered nurses and licensed practical or vocational nurses to practice in multiple jurisdictions with a single license. In an emergency, this enables health officials to quickly increase their staffing levels. In addition, hospitals in most states have a high degree of participation in healthcare coalitions. On average, 89 percent of hospitals were in a coalition and 17 states and the District of Columbia had universal participation, meaning every hospital in the jurisdiction was part of a coalition. Such coalitions bring hospitals and other healthcare facilities together with emergency management and public health officials to plan for and respond to incidents. Every state and the District of Columbia had public health laboratories that had plans for a large influx of testing needs. This ability to surge laboratory testing capacity during the COVID-19 crisis was extremely critical.

Most states are accredited in the areas of public health, emergency management, or both. As of December 2020, the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) or the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) accredited 42 states and the District of Columbia; 29 states and the District of Columbia were accredited by both groups, a net increase of one since November 2019. Both programs help ensure that necessary emergency preparation and response systems are in place and staffed by qualified personnel.

Seasonal flu vaccination rates, while still too low, have risen significantly. The seasonal flu vaccination rate among Americans ages 6 months or older rose from 42 percent during the 2017–2018 season to 52 percent during the 2019–2020 season but is still below the 70 percent target vaccination rate set by Healthy People 2030.

In 2019, only 55 percent of employed state residents, on average, used paid time off, the same percentage as in 2018. Those without paid leave are more likely to work when they are sick and risk spreading infection. This became particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic, as isolation and quarantine are important tools for controlling the outbreak.

Most residents who got their household water through a community water system had access to safe water. On average, just 5 percent of state residents used a community water system in 2019 that did not meet all applicable health-based standards.

The report includes recommendations for actions by federal and state policymakers to improve the nation’s public health emergency preparedness in seven priority areas:

  • Provide stable, sufficient funding for domestic and global public health security.
  • Strengthen policies and systems to prevent and respond to outbreaks and pandemics.
  • Build resilient communities and promote health equity generally and in preparedness.
  • Ensure effective public health leadership, coordination, and workforce.
  • Accelerate development and distribution, including last mile distribution, of medical countermeasures.
  • Strengthen the healthcare system’s ability to respond and recover during and from health emergencies.
  • Prepare for environmental threats and extreme weather.

The Ready or Not report series is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with additional support from The California Endowment, W.K. Kellogg Foundation and The Kresge Foundation.

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Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.  Twitter: @HealthyAmerica1

Increases in Drug Overdose Death Rates Were Up Before COVID-19 and Are Continuing to Rise During the Pandemic

Trust for America’s Health and Well Being Trust Call for Renewed Focus on Preventing Deaths of Despair

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA & OAKLAND, CA – Dec. 23, 2020 – According to data released this week by the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2019 age-adjusted drug overdose deaths increased slightly over the prior year.  Coupled with data released last week by the CDC showing increases in drug overdose deaths in early 2020, these reports demonstrate the continuing upward trajectory of drug deaths in the U.S, a trend that is being compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose during 2019 was 21.6 per 100,000 deaths, up from the 2018 rate of 20.7 per 100,000. In 2019, 70,630 people died due to drug overdose in the United States.

Between 1999 and 2019 the rate of drug overdose deaths increased for all groups aged 15 and older, with people aged 35-44 experiencing the highest single year increase in 2019.  While rates of drug overdose deaths involving heroin, natural and semisynthetic opioids, and methadone decreased between 2018 and 2019 the rate of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone continued to increase.

2018 data showing only minor progress after decades of worsening trends, provisional drug overdose data showing an 18% increase over the last 12 months, and the recent CDC Health Alert Network notice on early 2020 increases in fatal drug overdoses driven by synthetic opioids all underscore the continued impact of the deaths of despair crisis and how the COVID-19 pandemic has further diminished the mental health and well-being of many Americans.

“These 2019 overdose rates and the outlook for 2020 are extremely alarming and the result of insufficient prioritization and investment in the well-being and health of Americans for decades,” said John Auerbach, President and CEO of the Trust for America’s Health. “As we work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we must take a comprehensive approach that includes policies and programs that help Americans currently struggling and target upstream root causes, like childhood trauma, poverty and discrimination in order to help change the trajectory of alcohol, drug, and suicide deaths in the upcoming decades.”

Over the last five years, Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and Well Being Trust (WBT) have released a series of reports on “deaths of despair” called Pain in the Nation: The Drug, Alcohol and Suicides Epidemics and the Need for a National Resilience Strategy, which include data analysis and recommendations for evidence-based policies and programs that federal, state, and local officials.

“If leaders don’t act now to stymie America’s mental health and addiction crises, next year’s data will easily surpass the astounding numbers we’re seeing today,” said Dr. Benjamin F. Miller, PsyD, Chief Strategy Officer at Well Being Trust. “Overdose deaths can be prevented if individuals who are struggling are able to access the appropriate services and supports – and with greater demonstrated success if the care individuals receive is rooted in their immediate communities.”

 

Drug Overdose Deaths, 1999-2019 (Rates age-adjusted)

Year Deaths Deaths per 100,000
1999 16,849 6.1
2000 17,415 6.2
2001 19,394 6.8
2002 23,518 8.2
2003 25,785 8.9
2004 27,424 9.4
2005 29,813 10.1
2006 34,425 11.5
2007 36,010 11.9
2008 36,450 11.9
2009 37,004 11.9
2010 38,329 12.3
2011 41,340 13.2
2012 41,502 13.1
2013 43,982 13.8
2014 47,055 14.7
2015 52,404 16.3
2016 63,632 19.8
2017 70,237 21.7
2018 67,367 20.7
2019 70,630 21.6

 Sources:
CDC – NCHS – National Center for Health Statistics
https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2020/han00438.asp
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm

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About Trust for America’s Health
Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority. Twitter: @HealthyAmerica1

 

About Well Being Trust
Well Being Trust is a national foundation dedicated to advancing the mental, social, and spiritual health of the nation. Created to include participation from organizations across sectors and perspectives, Well Being Trust is committed to innovating and addressing the most critical mental health challenges facing America, and to transforming individual and community well-being. www.wellbeingtrust.org Twitter: @WellBeingTrust