Advocacy group asks Biden administration to track fentanyl deaths as they do with COVID-19

Families Against Fentanyl, a nonprofit group that works to raise awareness of the dangers of the potent drug fentanyl, has asked the Biden administration to put measures in place to track fentanyl overdoses and deaths the same way it did COVID-19 deaths and infections.

In a letter sent to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 10, the first annual designated National Fentanyl Awareness Day, the group asked CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra to begin tracking and making publicly available the number of fentanyl overdoses and deaths that occur in the country in a similar manner to the COVID-19 numbers that have been prominently displayed on news channels and online for public view.

The group asks the administration to amend the current lag time of 6 months from the time a fentanyl death occurs until the time it is officially recorded as such, to only 6 weeks, as the letter states the current delay prevents experts “from anticipating future trends and respond[ing] appropriately to the existing situation.”

“The danger is unbelievable. The cost to manufacture is super cheap. And we’re trying to stop fentanyl poisoning of Americans,” said Jim Rauh, founder of Families Against Fentanyl to Fox News Digital. “We are trying to influence the CDC to be able to derive the data in real time–time to see exactly what is going on. It’s become the number one killer of 18 to 45 year olds, and that demographic is expanding. We should be able to see what it is.”

Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that has become a leading cause of death and overdose due to its inexpensive nature and its frequent use as a filler for other street drugs. A small amount can cause overdose and unsuspecting users can easily ingest too much.

The letter also asks the administration to publish numbers on how often naloxone, a lifesaving overdose drug, has saved a life. Communities around the country are distributing the drug, known as Narcan, for free to residents in order to combat the opioid crisis.