Delaware has the fifth highest overdose death rate in the country and fentanyl has been a common theme in most of the overdoses.
Last year, 537 people died in Delaware from overdoses with fentanyl involved in 85% of those deaths.
Delaware Division of Public Health epidemiologist Katie Capelli says curbing the supply of fentanyl in the state remains a major issue.
"Unfortunately, Delaware is in a perfect position on the 95 corridor,” said Capelli. “You have the ports of Wilmington that we see the drug trade, the beginnings of fentanyl coming in to be manufactured. You have the Philadelphia port of entry, you have the Baltimore port of entry. We do see a lot of fentanyl being smuggled over the border unfortunately."
Fentanyl is also cheap and easy to produce, and it’s highly addictive
While fentanyl overdose is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18-to-45, Katie Capelli – an epidemiologist with the Delaware Division of Public Health – says those younger are falling victim, too.
"Delaware was one of the main states contributing to a recent report put out by the CDC in December among other states finding that there was a high spike in overdoses among our ages 10 to 19-year-olds," said Capelli.
DPH is launching a new campaign trying to reverse that trend.
"This campaign is utilizing social media outlets meeting - youth in particular - where they're at either on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook for some, and just letting them know that if they don't know where their medication is coming from - if it's not prescribed by their doctor, by their doctor - they don't know really what's in it," said Capelli.
Capelli notes most overdoses involve prescription medication from home or a friend, and that’s why the campaign stresses not taking medication that isn’t prescribed to you by your personal doctor.
For more information, visit Help Is Here Delaware and My Healthy Community.
