- most in U.S. History

The United States saw more than 93,000 Americans die of drug overdoses in 2020, the most in the nation’s history, amidst the Chinese coronavirus crisis that spurred economic lockdowns, according to the latest Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.

From January to December 2020, there were 93,331 drug overdose deaths indicating that an average of 256 Americans died every day from drug overdoses — the most in U.S. history.

Put another way, about 11 Americans died every hour last year from a drug overdose.

Since 2019, drug overdose deaths have increased nearly 30 percent and skyrocketed 450 percent since 1999. The data indicate that drug overdoses killed 21,000 more Americans in 2020 compared to 2019.