A new study from Penn State University reveals a stark shift in racial disparities surrounding drug overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Historically, white individuals have been more likely to die from opioid overdoses compared to Black individuals of the same age. However, this trend reversed as the pandemic emerged in 2020, with more Black Americans, particularly older adults in the Northeast, Midwest, and West, dying from drug overdoses.
The research, published in The American Journal on Addictions, examined racial and regional differences in overdose fatalities from 2012 to 2021. While younger Black individuals generally had lower overdose rates than their white counterparts, older Black individuals, especially men in Midwestern cities, became several times more likely to die from drug overdoses than their white counterparts during the pandemic.
Shashim Waghmare, a graduate student in health policy administration at Penn State and co-author of the study, emphasized the significance of these findings. “The increase in fatal drug overdoses among Black individuals, particularly older adults in the Northeast, Midwest and West, highlights the exacerbating impact of COVID-19 on substance use disparities,” Waghmare said. “It underlines an urgent need for tailored, culturally competent interventions and resources.”
The researchers attribute this shift partly to the rapid rise of fentanyl overdoses in the late 2010s. Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, causes a much higher overdose rate than other drugs, contributing to the disproportionate impact on Black communities during the pandemic’s disruptions.
See “Fentanyl and COVID-19 pandemic reshaped racial profile of overdose deaths in US” (April 30, 2024)
