MANCHESTER, N.H. – With the first three months of 2022 now complete, it appears that Manchester’s rate of opioid overdoses has returned to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
In January, February and March there were 163 suspected opioid overdoses in Manchester according to American Medical Response, Manchester’s ambulance service. That figure is more comparable to totals from 2018 (165) and 2019 (160) than during the pandemic years of 2020 (102) and 2021 (105).
In March, AMR reported 55 suspected opioid overdoses in Manchester, with seven opioid-related deaths in Manchester and Nashua during the month of March pending verification from the New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner.
AMR also reported that many of the reported opioid overdoses came from people who were unaware they were using opioids, following a national trend of opioids being found in numerous types of such as cocaine and marijuana.