SEATTLE — King County well being officers are sounding the alarm.
They are saying so many individuals are dying of drug overdoses that the county morgue is full. The numbers are alarming.
Greater than 1,000 folks in King County died from drug overdoses final yr. On common, that is almost three deaths a day, double the 2020 physique depend.
Now the King County Medical Examiner is in search of further house to accommodate individuals who died of an overdose.
The primary wrongdoer behind these deaths is fentanyl. Based on one estimate, fentanyl is the reason for 70% of those deaths.
Even on the King County Medical Examiner, the primary case Tuesday was of a 33-year-old man who died in Seattle from fentanyl.
“It is actually fairly superb,” mentioned Dr. Caleb Banta-Inexperienced, an opioid use dysfunction professional on the College of Washington Faculty of Drugs.
He says these dying from illicitly manufactured fentanyl are throughout King County.
“They’re female and male,” mentioned Dr. Banta-Inexperienced. “They’re younger and outdated, whereas we’ve got a a lot increased proportion of individuals below 30 than we’ve got seen with heroin or prescription opiates. So, we’re seeing a number of younger adults. We’re seeing it among the many African American and Latino populations. So large adjustments, not simply when it comes to numbers, however actually throughout our whole neighborhood.”
This exhibits what quantities to an explosion of alcohol and drug overdose deaths since 2020.
The quantity peaked at 1,000 final yr. And now, with lower than a month to go till the New 12 months, the loss of life toll is approaching 100.
We met this man after he mentioned he was turned away from an opioid therapy heart as a result of it appeared like he was already excessive. And the disaster has additionally hit him in different methods. He says that his roommate lately overdosed and died.
The immeasurable variety of a lethal drug that’s available on the streets of King County.
Right here on the health worker’s workplace, they are saying they’re utilizing post-mortem beds, working with funeral houses, and in search of a cooler house for the lengthy haul.
Dr. Banta-Inexperienced says all this exhibits the necessity for extra locations to deal with addicts.
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