(KERO) — COVID-19 wasn't the only significant health threat nationwide. According to information from Health Care Claims by Fair Health, drug overdoses rose during the pandemic.
The non-profit says the findings are based on millions of medical claims from its database. Alcohol was responsible for 52 percent of cases last year. Opioids were second with 21 percent.
During the same time, fewer people were diagnosed with substance use disorder.
According to provisional data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 109,000 people fatally overdosed on drugs in 2021. That's a 51 percent hike from 2019.
Meanwhile, drug use in schools across the country has sparked debate. Should schools keep the overdose-reversing spray Narcan on campus?
As opioid overdoses continue to rise, especially among teens, more and more schools are saying 'yes.'
A study from the University of California Los Angeles found the rate of overdose deaths among U.S. teenagers nearly doubled in 2020, then went up again in the first half of 2021.
That's why school nurse Jennifer Kerker says schools need to be ready to help. She was part of a community-wide effort to stock Narcan at her high school in Boulder, Colorado. Now It's available at all the schools in her district.
"The only problem with Narcan is not having it when you need it. Students want to protect themselves. They want to protect their friends. And parents want to help keep their students safe. And this Narcan is one way we can do that."
In the short time her school has had Narcan, Kerker did have to use it on a student who was unresponsive.
More than half of states now allow school systems to have Narcan. Seven states require it for either high schools or colleges.
