Final tally: Nearly 107,000 U.S. overdose deaths last year

Nearly 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, according to final figures released Thursday.

The official number was 106,699, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. That’s nearly 16% higher than the nearly 92,000 overdose deaths in 2020.

Earlier, provisional data suggested there were more than 107,000 overdose deaths last year. The numbers may have changed as some additional death records have come in, a CDC spokesman said. Also, provisional data includes all overdose deaths, while the final numbers are limited to U.S. residents, he noted.

The CDC on Thursday also released a final report for overall U.S. deaths in 2021. As previously reported, more than 3.4 million Americans died that year, or more than 80,000 than the year before. Accidental injuries — which include drug overdoses — was the fourth leading cause of death, after heart disease, cancer and COVID-19. Life expectancy fell to about 76 years, 5 months.

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.