Opioids killed more people in Ontario in the second year of the pandemic compared to the first, but the province saw a drop in deaths last March, according to newly released data.
About eight people a day died from opioids in the second year of the pandemic, according to preliminary data from Ontario’s Office of the Chief Coroner. From April 2021 to March 2022, 2,790 opioid-related deaths were recorded, up slightly from 2,727 in the first year of the pandemic.
That’s two big jumps from 2019, when opioids killed 1,559 Ontarians, or about four people a day.
“It’s ongoing and it’s bad and it’s gotten a lot worse during the pandemic,” Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontario’s chief coroner, said in an interview.
But the data also shows that the death rate fell 10% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. The data is considered preliminary because it includes both confirmed and probable opioid-related deaths and is subject to change, Huyer said.
“Should we celebrate the fact that we are down 10%? Mr. Huyer said. No. We still have a lot of people dying, but, yeah, we’re not continuing the upward trend, so that’s good. »
The total number of deaths fell 31% in March 2022 compared to March 2021. Ontario lifted most COVID-19 restrictions that month, although Huyer currently estimates that it is not possible to establish that this is a cause of the drop in the number of deaths.
Overall, the death rate for opioid toxicity in 2021 was 19.5 deaths per 100,000 people, more than double the rate of 9.1 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017.
The data suggests to Huyer that the jump in opioid-related deaths during the pandemic was due to more people using drugs on their own due to fewer services available in their communities.
“These communities are reopening now, so there’s some support from a safety perspective, but also support for mental well-being and things are looking better overall,” Huyer said.
He also pointed out that the border closures may have had an effect on the drug supply.
Northern Ontario remains the hardest hit in the province and the problem is worsening, with the region having more than double the death rate of the entire province.
“Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Algoma, just significant increases,” said Ontario’s Chief Coroner.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit recorded an opioid-related death rate of 82.1 per 100,000 people in the first quarter, which was the highest rate in the province and more than four times the provincial rate.
Sudbury & Districts Public Health was the second highest with an opioid-related death rate of 57.9 per 100,000, while Algoma—in Sault Ste. Marie — was third with a death rate of 52 per 100,000.
Men continue to die from opioids at a disproportionate rate, accounting for three out of four deaths in Ontario. Men aged 25 to 44 accounted for 54% of deaths in the first quarter of 2022.
Fentanyl remains the most common substance found in people who died from opioid use, according to the data.
Some communities more affected
Tara Gomes, an epidemiologist at Unity Health Toronto who studies opioid use, is cautious about the recent drop in deaths, saying the data remains preliminary.
“It’s so hard to know for sure right now, but it’s better than the alternative, that what we’ve seen during the pandemic continues,” she said.
Her work has focused on urban-rural disparities and challenges in the North.
“I think a lot of the harm reduction services we have are really designed to work well in urban settings, but in larger areas or rural areas it’s much harder to plan and manage,” said she pointed out.
Gomes said she believes the province and federal government should relax rules on proven opioid treatments like suboxone and methadone and significantly expand harm reduction and safe spaces to use drugs.
His research found that opioids are disproportionately killing the homeless population and unemployed people during the pandemic. It also greatly affected construction workers, according to his research.
“We still haven’t solved this problem,” she said.