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The Epidemic Inside The Pandemic

Tablets of opioid painkiller Oxycodon delivered on medical prescription taken on September 18, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Tablets of opioid painkiller Oxycodon delivered on medical prescription taken on September 18, 2019 in Washington, DC.

The U.S. is in the midst of two public health crises.

As the pandemic rages,opioid overdose deaths in 2020 rose 29 percent compared to 2019. The 93,000 deaths are attributed to isolation, disruption of addiction services, and other consequences of the pandemic. 

At the same time, a $26 billion settlement between states and some of the biggest manufacturers in the opioid industry is being finalized, but not everyone is on board

We talk about how we got to where we are and the details of the biggest settlement since the tobacco agreement in 1998.

Copyright 2021 WAMU 88.5

Michelle Harven

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