SMC Supervisors Recommend More Action To Reduce Overdose Deaths

REDWOOD CITY, CA — San Mateo County is developing plans to better combat overdose deaths involving opioids and fentanyl, which continue to rise locally and across the nation — particularly among youth and young adults.

This week the Board of Supervisors received a detailed report on the crisis from San Mateo County Health and directed staffers to craft a comprehensive approach to the problem.

"As the parent of a college sophomore and a recent college grad, this is an issue that feels very personal to me," said Dave Pine, president of the Board of Supervisors. "I think the emphasis on education just has to be continuously called out. Our best approach is educating residents, especially youth and young adults, about the lethality of these drugs."

The report included national data from 2020 that showed large-scale surges in overdose deaths across teenage groups, with more than three-quarters involving fentanyl found in counterfeit pills. In 2021, toxicology reports from the San Mateo coroner reported 66 deaths involving fentanyl — representing half of all overdose deaths and a total considerably higher than the year before.

As the county moves forward with a new plan, supervisors made a few recommendations for areas of focus, including large-scale public awareness campaigns, better data collection to identify at-risk areas, expanding access to overdose-reversal drugs and test trips and improving coordination between departments, including public health, schools and public safety officials.

County health officials also recommended support for state and federal efforts to reduce overdose deaths, including California legislation to make naloxone freely available in more schools and libraries.

>> Read the full report on the opioid and fentanyl crisis on the San Mateo County website.