After Deadliest Year on Record for Overdoses in RI, Community Leaders Warn of Narcan Shortage
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Health and community advocates are urging the state to have a dedicated funding stream for naloxone (Narcan), the overdose reversal drug, citing a shortage of the life-saving medication.
A rally is taking place on Tuesday morning starting at 10:30 at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services located at 3 West Road in Cranston.
According to event organizers, 2020 was the deadliest year on record for fatal drug overdoses in Rhode Island, with 384 people having lost their lives.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"Even then, naloxone was used to reverse hundreds, if not thousands, of overdoses and kept people alive," they said. "Overdose prevention workers warn that without a steady supply of naloxone, the death toll will rise dramatically in 2021 and beyond."
Speakers will include Michelle McKenzie with the Preventing Overdose and Naloxone Intervention (PONI) program at the Miriam Hospital and Ashley Perry and Lily Rivera with Project Weber/RENEW.
Supply Shortage Immediate Concern
The event organizers claim the state needs to better address supply - and demand - stating the following:
"The immediate shortage is due to supply chain issues from the pharmaceutical company that provides the lower cost naloxone: this shortage could be remedied by the state purchasing the medication from other manufacturers. The larger issue is that Rhode Island has never adequately, and reliably, resourced the purchase of naloxone.
The state scrambles each year to find money to purchase naloxone, and recently even increased their purchase of naloxone. However, outreach workers note that without a stable, reliable supply of narcan they cannot do their job to meet the needs of the community and prevent overdose. Research shows that 45,000 kits each year (market rate of $3.3 million dollars) is needed to saturate the community with narcan."
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