Opioid Overdoses In Harford County Down 6.1% In Q3

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — During the first nine months of 2020, Harford County saw a decrease in fatal overdoses, based on preliminary health data. It was the opposite of the statewide trend.

Harford was one of five jurisdictions in Maryland and the only one of the seven largest that saw a decrease in deadly overdoses in the third quarter of 2020, the data shows.

In 2019, there were 49 deadly overdoses in through September, while in 2020, the number was down to 46 in Harford County, according to the data, accounting for a 6.1 percent decrease.

Carroll, Kent, Frederick and Talbot were the other areas that saw declines from January through September 2020.

Statewide, deadly overdoses were up 12.1 percent from July through September 2020, based on the Maryland Department of Health's report released this month.

Harford County is the only jurisdiction in the state that has its high-priority programming to prevent deadly overdoses more than 75 percent operational, the report shows.

The Klein Family Harford Crisis Center is available 24/7 at 1-800-NEXT-STEP or locally 410-874-0711.

Here is what grant funding in 2021 will support, according to the state's Opioid Operational Command Center, which was created by gubernatorial executive order in 2017 to address the opioid problem:

Officials said fentanyl accounted for 93.1 percent of all opioid-related deaths and 84 percent of all unintentional intoxication deaths in the first three quarters of 2020.

One metric that revealed an increase after a downward trend in 2019 was the deaths from prescription opioids, according to the Opioid Operational Command Center, which reported they increased by 12.3 percent year over year.