CDC awards $279M to 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 40 local health departments to help prevent drug overdoses
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded $279 million to 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 40 local health departments to help stop overdoses within their communities. The resources come from two new Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) funding opportunities and fill a longstanding gap in funding for local communities by specifically supporting city, county, and territorial health departments.
The announcement of this award came on International Overdose Awareness Day (August 31).
The OD2A funds will help states and communities respond more quickly, effectively, and equitably to prevent overdose death and injury.
New information published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), Drug Overdose Deaths with Evidence of Counterfeit Pill Use — United States, July 2019–December 2021, indicates an increasing percentage of overdose deaths involved counterfeit pill use. These pills are especially dangerous because they typically appear as pharmaceutical pills but often contain illegally made fentanyl and illegal benzodiazepines (such as bromazolam, etizolam, and flualprazolam) or other drugs, with or without people’s knowledge.
