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In 2020, the number of fentanyl deaths in the county more than doubled, and the victims were younger, on average, than in the previous two years, according to an analysis by KQED and the Documenting COVID-19 project at Columbia University’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation. The Documenting COVID-19 project and KQED obtained data from the county medical examiner that showed 11 people died from a fentanyl overdose in 2018. That number grew to 27 people in 2019 and then shot up to 73 people in 2020. The increase mirrors a surge in drug overdoses in California and around the country during the pandemic. What’s notable about the victims in Santa Clara County is their youth. One was a 12-year-old girl. (Small and Chatterjee, 5/24)

A group fighting substance use addiction in ground zero of the opioid epidemic in one of West Virginia’s largest cities will receive a $200,000 federal grant. West Virginia’s U.S. senators announced that Recovery Point of Huntington will receive the funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The program offers no-cost services for people with substance use disorder, a press release said. The grant will specifically help target recidivism among those struggling. (5/25)

Alabama coach Nick Saban is set to join current and former athletes and coaches from West Virginia and Marshall universities this week as part of an effort to fight the opioid epidemic. They’re coming together at the Greenbrier Resort for a group called West Virginia Game Changer. It’s a community initiative designed to educate and support youth to make healthy choices. (5/24)

The group representing individuals and government entities with opioid-related claims against Mallinckrodt Plc say the pharmaceutical company needs to provide more information and time for them to determine whether they will vote in support of its proposed restructuring plan. (Chutchian, 5/24)