Thirty-four King County residents died from fentanyl Drug overdose in July: How our community can take action

August 17, 2021.Reading time 10 minutes.

Dark purple background with large gray ribbon. Graphic symbolizes overdose awareness.

Fentanyl has hit our community and is taking the lives of so many loved ones. We have already exceeded last year’s numbers for fentanyl deaths. Overdose is preventable and there are actions we can all take.

Alert: Spike in fatal overdoses in our community

January 14, 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

Public Health – Seattle & King County is alerting our community about a sharp rise in fatal overdoses over the past two weeks. In the period from Dec. 27, 2020 to Jan. 9, 2021, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office identified 42 suspected or confirmed overdose deaths.

Public Health calls for community safety as fentanyl-involved deaths rise

April 23, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

Public Health – Seattle & King County reminds our community that pills purchased off the street or online without a prescription likely contains illicit fentanyl—the drug that can lead to overdose and death. In just the past two weeks, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office identified 14 people whose lives were lost to drug overdose involving fentanyl.

Emergency departments become vital entry point to treat opioid-use disorder

August 29, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Emergency rooms are ramping up their efforts to help patients start on life-saving medications to treat opioid use disorder.

Most recent overdose data released: 2018 data show most overdose deaths involve multiple drugs

July 2, 2019.Reading time 9 minutes.

Data from the 2018 Overdose Death Report is now available. The report finds that in recent years, overdoses from prescription opioids and heroin have remained stable, while overdoses involving methamphetamine and illicit fentanyl have increased.

Update: Carfentanil found in syringe at scene of January overdoses

January 18, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Update as of 3/19/19: On March 8, 2019 Public Health received additional testing results from the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab from a syringe found at the scene of multiple overdoses that took place in the north area of Seattle on January 17, 2019. The syringe was found to contain carfentanil, in addition to heroin. […]