Nearly 2,700 People Died Of Overdoses In NYC During 2021: New Data

NEW YORK CITY — Drug overdoses claimed the lives of nearly 2,700 people in New York City during 2021, according to newly released numbers.

City health officials released the grim tally Thursday, just days after advocates sharply criticized the slow release of the life-or-death data from the past two years.

The figures don't include any data from 2022, but show that overdoses the year before continued a tragic upward trend.

Overdose deaths in 2021 were 78 percent higher than just two year prior, the data shows. Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said the deaths are all the more heartbreaking because many were preventable.

“As a city we must use every evidence-based tool at our disposal to reach people with services and – most of all – support and compassion," he said in a statement. "As a society, stigma, shame, and fear have worsened the situation and delayed the deployment of proven solutions."

Vasan's words echoed those by advocates with VOCAL-NY, who had called him to release the numbers as the city's two landmark safe injection sites faced potential risks.

Jasmine Budnella, the group's director drug policy, said she needed to look over the numbers released Thursday. But she said the figures, as outlined by a Patch reporter, were unfortunately unsurprising.

“The data is just exemplary of what we’re seeing on the ground,” she said.

“We obviously need more solutions."

In total, there were 2,668 overdose deaths in New York City in 2021, according to the provisional report. That's 565 more deaths — or a 27 percent increase — than seen in 2020, the data shows.

Black New Yorkers had the highest rate of overdose deaths, according to the data. Among the boroughs, The Bronx had the highest rate of overdose death.

"For the fifth year in a row, fentanyl was the most common
substance involved in overdose deaths, present in 80% of overdose
deaths in 2021," the report states.

Read the full report here.