During his weekly press conference Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear announced drug overdose deaths in Kentucky declined by 5% in 2022 compared with 2021, marking the first such drop in four years.
According to the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, 2,127 Kentuckians died from a drug overdose in 2022 compared with 2,257 during the previous year.
Gov. Beshear in press confernce. (Photo by Tom Latek/Kentucky Today)
“The number of people that we are losing to overdose deaths is still too high,” the governor said. “One is too many, but with the opioid epidemic we see far, far too many. Still, it’s been since 2018 that we have seen a year that had fewer overdose deaths than the year before.”
He added, “I think it’s important that we note that, because it ought to give us at least hope — hope that progress is possible, hope that we can see fewer deaths next year than we saw this year, hope that we can get more people better and back with their families, back in society, back in a good job.”
Beshear said fighting the ongoing drug epidemic has been a top priority for him, first as attorney general, now as governor.
On March 24, the governor signed two pieces of legislation to support ongoing efforts to help Kentuckians who are fighting addiction. At that time, he said, “I am proud that Kentucky has been leading the way in providing treatment services to Kentuckians through the state’s Treatment Access Program, which allows those without health insurance to enter residential treatment, and we have increased the number of treatment beds by 50% during my administration.”
The Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, or KIPRC, has been tracking drug overdose-related deaths since 2011. The Office of Drug Control Policy, in partnership with KIPRC, will be releasing the compete 2022 Kentucky Drug Overdose Report in the coming months. The complete report will include additional data on the number of drug overdose deaths by county and various demographics.
Kentuckians in need of assistance in fighting addiction can call the Kentucky Help Call Center at 833-8KY-HELP (833-859-4357), to speak one-on-one with a specialist who can connect them to treatment. Visit findhelpnowky.org to find information about available space in treatment programs and providers based on location, facility type and category of treatment needed.
Public Health
The Governor said that COVID-19 activity remains stable, and all but one Kentucky county has low COVID-19 community levels.
This week, the FDA approved a second omicron booster for immunocompromised people and people over the age of 65. He also reminded Kentuckians that the National Public Health Emergency declaration for COVID-19 will end on May 11, 2023.
Gov. Beshear said that the memorial honoring the lives lost during the COVID-19 pandemic is being installed at the Capitol. This memorial is from artist Amanda Matthews and was selected through a committee made up of families who lost someone to the virus, health care heroes and other Kentuckians impacted by the pandemic.
A ceremony will be held once the memorial is complete.
Kentucky Today and Staff report
