CDC Awards Grants to Help States Fight Opioid Epidemic
More than $12 million going to 23 states and to Washington, D.C., will strengthen prevention efforts and enable better tracking of opioid-related overdoses. CDC indicated it expects to announce more funding for state opioid overdose prevention programs later this summer.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is awarding more than $12 million to 23 states and to Washington, D.C., this week to support their fight against the opioid overdose epidemic. The funds will be used to strengthen prevention efforts and enable better tracking of opioid-related overdoses, and CDC indicated it expects to announce more funding for state opioid overdose prevention programs later this summer. "The opioid epidemic is a scourge on our nation that knows no bounds," said Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Tom Price. "President Trump and we at HHS are working to support states on the front lines of this national crisis. This new support from CDC, funded by the appropriations bill President Trump signed in May, will help states and local authorities track this epidemic and respond in real time."
Increased funding for opioids in the FY2017 Omnibus Appropriations bill is allowing CDC to support all states that have applied for funding through the Enhanced State Surveillance of Opioid-Involved Morbidity and Mortality (ESOOS) program and the Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States (PfS) program. Under the ESOOS program, $7.5 million will go to 20 additional states and the District of Columbia to better track and prevent opioid-involved nonfatal and fatal overdoses; the agreement already provides funds to 12 states to develop and adapt surveillance systems to address overdoses attributable to opioids, including a specific focus on heroin and synthetic opioids such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl.
States can use the ESOOS funds to report overdoses and risk factors linked to fatal overdoses more quickly, to share data with key stakeholders working to prevent opioid-involved overdoses, and to share data with CDC to support improved multi-state surveillance of opioid-involved overdoses and responses to them.
The new ESOOS awardees are Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington state.
Under the PfS program, $4.8 million will go to an additional eight states: The new awardees are Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Carolina, and West Virginia, which join the 14 PfS states that received funding last year.
"More than 90 Americans lose their lives to the opioid overdose epidemic every day, which is devastating to their communities and families," said CDC Director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald. "Supporting state efforts is crucial to stop these tragic losses."