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Boston's Morning Newsletter
Mass. set a record last year for overdose deaths. Here's what the state is doing about it
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
From City Hall to Boston Common to the Zakim Bridge, you’ll be seeing a lot of purple across the region today. That’s because it’s International Overdose Awareness Day. The symbolic displays come after Massachusetts set a record for opioid overdose deaths last year.
Here’s a look at the numbers and what the state is doing about it:
Six and a half: That’s how many people, on average, died each day in Massachusetts from overdoses in 2022, according to state estimates. Preliminary data put the total number at 2,357 deaths — a 2.5% increase over the previous high in 2021. As WBUR’s Martha Bebinger recently reported, among racial groups, the most dramatic increase (42%) was among Black residents, while Native Americans had the state’s highest overall per-capita rate of overdose deaths by far. Worcester County saw the largest increase in the state, at 18%.
- What new is being done about it: You should start seeing Narcan, the nasal spray used to reverse overdoses, showing up on store shelves in the coming week. WBUR’s Deborah Becker reports that major pharmacy chains like Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS plan to sell the drug beginning early next month, after the FDA voted this past spring to allow Narcan to be sold over the counter.
- What it costs: It depends on your health insurance. Blue Cross Blue Shield will cover the cost of over-the-counter Narcan for members. MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, will do the same. But if you have insurance through Harvard Pilgrim Health Care or Tufts Health Plan — or have no insurance — it will cost $45 for a two-dose pack, a price Deb reports advocates fear may be prohibitive for those most in need of the drug.
- On the ground: Other harm reduction strategies have emerged this summer in Massachusetts, including vending machines that dispense clean needles and an overdose prevention hotline. The new budget also includes money to stock the MBTA’s Red Line stations with publicly accessible Narcan. Meanwhile, a handful of local programs have started handing out test strips for xylazine, a type of animal tranquilizer often found in street drugs that increases the risk of overdose and death.
- What’s next: Four years ago, a state commission recommended trying out so-called supervised consumption sites, though proposals on Beacon Hill went nowhere under Gov. Charlie Baker. Gov. Maura Healey, however, has voiced support for supervised consumption sites and her administration is aiming to finish a feasibility study by the end of the year. (Somerville has also been slowly pursuing a plan of its own.)
- The big picture: Massachusetts isn’t alone here. The U.S. also set a record for drug overdose deaths in 2022, driven by fentanyl. NPR has a look at the national data here.
Getting on the road this Labor Day weekend? Now might be a good time to leave. AAA Northeast says congestion on the highways will start to pick up this afternoon around 2 p.m.
- What about tomorrow? The advice is to leave even earlier. AAA spokesperson Mark Schieldrop told WBUR’s Samantha Coetzee that traffic will get worse by about 11 a.m. tomorrow.
- And the return leg? Schieldrop expects both Monday and Tuesday afternoon traffic to be heavy coming back into the Boston area. “We expect things to be pretty busy,” he said. “A lot of that travel has already started in earnest with the rise of hybrid work and flexible schedules. It seems that many folks are taking additional days surrounding the Labor Day holiday to really extend that three day weekend into a five, six or even a seven day vacation.”
Add this to the list of next month’s MBTA service disruptions: The postponed closure of the Green Line Extension’s branch to Union Square is back on the schedule. Due to MassDOT work on the nearby Route 28 bridge, the one-stop leg will close for 25 days starting on Sept. 18 — a reduced timespan from the originally planned 42 days.
- To note: There’ll be no shuttle bus service to Union Square during the closure. MassDOT is encouraging those who use the station to take the nearby 86, 91 and CT2 bus routes as an alternative, or walk to the GLX’s Medford Branch, which will remain open.
- What the Fluff? The Boston Globe reports that Somerville officials aren’t happy about the timing of the closure, which coincides with the popular Fluff festival in Union Square on Sept. 23. MassDOT says it plans to talk to Union Square’s business group about “any potential mitigation options.”
P.S.— Sept. 1, the Boston area’s biggest moving day, is almost here. While you may need to entice family and friends with free pizza and beer to lug your furniture and boxes into your new place, we can help you unpack your moving priorities to get settled sooner. Check out our moving-to-Boston checklist here, and then sign up for our soon-to-launch newsletter with a series of guides to everything Boston newcomers need to know to feel more at home in the city. (If you’re someone who’s already settled in, forward this to a new-to-Boston friend, family member or colleague who could use the free tips!)
