Home » Maine Law » Maine Drug O.D. vs. COVID-19 Deaths To Date.

Maine Drug O.D. vs. COVID-19 Deaths To Date.

Maine Drug O.D. vs. COVID-19 Deaths To Date.

Posted by Ed Folsom, November 28, 2023.

As you might expect, Maine drug overdose deaths among people under age 60 versus those age 60 and older are a near mirror image of COVID-19 deaths in these age groups since early 2020. The Maine CDC’s COVID-19 data web page records 3,176 deaths with COVID-19 from the first such death to date. Of those, 2,811 – 88.5% – occurred in the age group 60 and older, while 365 – 11.5% – occurred in the age group under 60. More than half the deaths in the 60+ group occurred among those age 80+. U.S. life expectancy is 76.1 years for the overall population: 79.1 years for females, 73.2 years for males. Just under 53% percent of Maine’s recorded COVID-19 deaths are of males.

On the other hand, Maine’s Drug Data Hub records 2,125 drug overdose deaths from April 1, 2020 through September 20, 2023. Of those, only 270 – 12.7% – occurred in the age group 60+ while 1,855 – 87.3% – occurred in the age group under 60.

That’s right, since COVID-19 first burst onto the scene here in Maine, our CDC has recorded only 365 COVID deaths in the population under age 60, while during the same period at least 1,855 people under age 60 have died of a drug overdose.

Last year, Maine logged 715 drug overdose deaths. This year, through September 30, the Drug Data Hub records 435. It looks like the 2023 total will be the lowest since 2020 when 501 overdose deaths were recorded. At least we’re least trending in the right direction.