ATLANTA – The number of Americans dying from overdoses remains unknown following the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The monthly Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts report, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was last updated on September 17, 2025. The shutdown, which furloughed many federal workers, began a few weeks later.
The data, which provides key insight into the overdose crisis, typically lags four months behind. The National Center for Health Statistics analyzes death records from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. That means September’s report includes deaths only through the end of April 2025.
While the latest report showed 76,516 deaths from May 2024 to April 2025, a nearly 25% decrease from the prior 12 months, the country doesn’t have a clear picture of what has happened over the last nine months.
After record-setting declines since late 2023, the latest data released appeared to show signs that the rapid decline might be slowing.
This lapse in reporting comes as another government shutdown looms over Washington.
“I don’t think either side wants to see that happen,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Politico last week. “I think that’s toxic for both parties.”
There are signs that new data could be coming soon. The National Center for Health Statistics is scheduled to release final numbers on overdose deaths for 2023 and 2024 on Jan. 29. That release, however, still doesn’t resolve the unknown window from May 2025 onward.
