Wicomico Sees Overdose Death Spike During Pandemic

SALISBURY – An uptick in overdose deaths and challenges relating to COVID-19 vaccinations highlighted a recent report on the health of Wicomico County.

Last week, Wicomico County Health Officer Lori Brewster presented the Wicomico County Council with a report on Wicomico’s health.

While she noted COVID-19 statistics – including positivity and case rates – were trending down, overdose deaths had increased by 27.6%.

“Our number of overdose deaths for 2020 rose by eight, which is a 27.6% increase over 2019,” she said. “I will say the increase in overdose deaths did not begin until quarter two, which was when COVID began. And we have seen and heard from individuals that have had nonfatal overdoses that the social isolation and the inability to access treatment has contributed to their drug use.”

Brewster also told officials last week the county reported a decline in EMS transports and emergency department visits and an increase in mental health issues such as depression.

“I will say it’s of the opinion in the community that suicides are up, and they are actually down, which is a good thing,” she said. “But again, most of the increases in mental health issues are because of social isolation.”

Brewster added the pandemic also contributed to a decrease in cancer screenings.

“Over the course of the pandemic we have seen a decline in individuals getting screening for various types of cancer,” she said. “So we are trying to engage individuals in both colorectal and breast cancer screenings because those are the two highest in our community.”

Brewster told council members as of last week 47% of the county’s eligible population had now been vaccinated. She noted, however, that requests for the vaccine had dropped off in recent weeks.

“Back in December, when we started receiving vaccine, we couldn’t get it fast enough to be able to give it out,” she said. “We have seen – with all the availability of vaccine within our community at physicians’ offices, pharmacies and the mass vaccination clinic – a decline in individuals’ desires to be vaccinated.”

As a result of that decline, Brewster said, the civic center’s mass vaccination site was downsizing its operations. She added that the health department was working with certain populations within the county to address vaccine hesitancy and incentivize people to get vaccinated.

“I have been working with Senator (Mary Beth) Carozza on a plan I am trying to convince the state we need to do, which is working with individuals who register for the vaccine and we would deliver the vaccine at the Shorebirds stadium in exchange for tickets to the Shorebirds game,” she said. “Federal dollars that have come in for COVID vaccine are not eligible for incentives, so we are trying to find some funding available for incentives such as that.”

Following Brewster’s report, Councilman John Cannon questioned if any improvements had been made to the health department’s environmental health services. In recent months, officials and community members have highlighted the challenging process of repairing or replacing failing septic systems in Wicomico County. They noted staffing shortages at the health department have led to months-long permitting delays.

“How are we as far as that’s concerned?” he said. “I think some of the consensus is that there were some staffing issues there.”

Brewster said the department was working to hire additional staff members.

“Very frankly, the pay in public health and environmental health is not great when you can go to the private sector and do similar work and make a whole lot more money,” she said. “We have even seen people leave to go across the state line to Delaware where they are paying better.”

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

Alternative Text

Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.