US Secretary of Well being and Human Companies Robert F. Kennedy Jr., himself in long-term restoration from opioid dependancy, says a nationwide emergency declaration linked to opioid overdose deaths will probably be prolonged previous Friday’s expiration date.
JIM WATSON/AFP through Getty Photos/AFP
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JIM WATSON/AFP through Getty Photos/AFP
The Trump administration is extending by way of mid-June an emergency declaration linked to the opioid overdose disaster that was set to run out on Friday.
In a press release, U.S. Division of Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. acknowledged drug deaths within the U.S. “are beginning to decline” however stated the Trump administration will proceed treating the opioid disaster as “the nationwide safety emergency that it’s.”
President Trump has linked fentanyl smuggling to his tariffs towards Canada, China and Mexico. In doing so, Trump has typically made factually inaccurate claims in regards to the variety of drug deaths within the U.S. He is additionally stated repeatedly Canada is a big supply of road fentanyl reaching U.S. communities, which is unfaithful in accordance with knowledge gathered by U.S. Customs and Border Safety.
The truth is, drug overdose deaths have been declining quickly within the U.S. because the summer season of 2023, with fatalities linked particularly to fentanyl down roughly 30 p.c. In all, roughly 30,000 fewer individuals are dying annually from road medication in comparison with the height of the disaster in June 2023. That is in accordance with the most recent knowledge from October 2024 gathered by the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.
Based on Kennedy, renewing the general public well being emergency declaration for 90 days will enable the federal authorities continued flexibility responding to the disaster.
It is unclear why drug deaths are declining so quickly, although many specialists credit score public well being measures applied by the Biden administration. Opioid-treatment medicines equivalent to buprenorphine, methadone and naloxone, also called Narcan, are much more extensively accessible now.
Underneath the Inexpensive Care Act, Medicaid has additionally emerged as a number one supply of insurance coverage protection for dependancy therapy and healthcare associated to road drug restoration. Some Republicans have proposed deep finances cuts that might affect Medicaid funding.
Democrats in Congress, in the meantime, have criticized the White Home for firing roughly 10 p.c of federal staff centered on dependancy on the Substance Abuse and Psychological Well being Companies Administration.
