By EMS1 Staff
BALTIMORE — Health officials said Baltimore is running low on naloxone due to the growing amount of overdoses.
Dr. Leana Wen, the city’s health commissioner, said the health department needs funding for more supplies since the demand has jumped significantly, according to The Baltimore Sun.
“We are rationing,” Dr. Wen said. “We’re deciding who is at the highest risk and giving it to them.”
Baltimore has about 4,000 doses to last through next May. The department will give two at a time to residents in “hotspots,” or areas where overdoses have recently occurred.
“If I had 10,000 doses and gave them to everyone who requested them, I’d run out in about two weeks,” Dr. Wen said.
Maryland health officials reported that 2,089 people died from overdoses last year, which is up 66 percent from 2015. Estimates show that there are around 21,000 active heroin users in the Baltimore area.