PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia saw its highest-ever number of fatal overdoses in 2021 with 1,276 people dying within city limits from drug use, city health officials said on Wednesday.
In an annual report on overdose deaths, city officials attributed the staggering death toll in part to lasting harms from the COVID-19 pandemic, citing “the impact on mental health, social isolation, and access to health care, treatment, and harm reduction services.”
Overdoses increased across all racial groups in the city in 2021, with 59 more people dying, a rise of 5 percent.
