The Vindicator, a newspaper covering Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, reports, “increased isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted people with substance use disorders.” In Trumbull County, accidental overdoses increased in 2020, over the numbers in 2019 and 2018. Early this month, Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz said eleven people died from drug overdoses in almost two days. She posted on social media the deaths occurred in a little over 42 hours.
Narcan is only useful if someone is around to administer it. It seems that hotlines are not the help people are needing. The human touch remains to be the best element to save lives.