A report out this week showed the dramatic increase in opioid deaths across the United States, and numbers rose in Pennsylvania, but it wasn’t as significant as other states.
The latest figures show that there were 5,278 fatal overdoses in Pennsylvania in 2020. That number is up from around 4,500 in 2019.
That makes it around a 16 percent increase—which ranks as the 13th lowest percentage jump in fatalities.
Experts say the rising overdoses can be tied to a significant increase in synthetic opioids like fentanyl.