By Thomas Hughes. Bay City News.
A report from the San Francisco Department of Public Health shows that overdose deaths in San Francisco decreased in 2021 for the first time in three years, according to a news release from the department.
The report released last week, titled “Substance Use Trends in San Francisco through 2021,” showed that 625 people died from overdoses involving opioids, cocaine or methamphetamine in the city.
That marked an 11 percent decrease from 2020 numbers. But overdose deaths in 2021 were still 41 percent above 2019 numbers. The health department said in a news release that last year's numbers remain at crisis level.
“The Substance Use Trends report compels us to do more across the city to alleviate the overdose crisis in San Francisco communities and save more lives,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, director of health.
“Our new overdose strategic plan builds on the progress that has been made and drives our public health response forward by defining our public health goals and strategies that will have the greatest impact. This also requires a ‘whole city’ approach to work together to support people who use drugs and reduce their risks in every way possible,” she added.
According to the report, 75 percent of all overdose deaths in 2021 were attributed to fentanyl, which is a powerful synthetic opioid.
The report also highlighted racial disparities in overdose deaths. Black San Franciscans faced overdose deaths at a rate five times higher than the city as a whole, according to the health department.
The city has developed a four-point strategic plan to try to reduce overdose deaths, which the report said were concentrated in the Tenderloin and South Market neighborhoods but also persisted throughout the city.
The plan involves deploying a street-based overdose response team and increasing the distribution of naloxone, an emergency medication that can help prevent overdoses. The city is also looking to open wellness centers in certain hard-hit neighborhoods, with the first one scheduled to open later this year, according to the health department.
City officials also made the drug buprenorphine available in more locations, which can help treat addiction, and are seeking to increase the number of beds available in shelters for residents with behavioral health issues.
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