AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin and Travis County leaders will give an update on the opioid overdose epidemic on Tuesday afternoon.
Public health and elected officials plan to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. to “provide updates on the response to the opioid overdose epidemic as a follow-up to last year’s press conference,” according to a press release from the city.
Last year’s press conference came shortly after a surge of overdoses and several deaths occurred in Travis County last spring. Over 70 overdoses and at least nine deaths were linked to that surge.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, Travis County Judge Andy Brown, Austin-Travis County Medical Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes, and Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz will be at the conference.
KXAN plans to livestream the press conference in a video player at the top of this story and on Facebook.
Recent drop in drug-related death rates
Tuesday’s press conference comes as opioid death rates have been on a decline at the local and national levels. In March, ATCEMS officials said opioid-related deaths were declining for the first time in nearly a decade, as opiate bridge programming enrollment has increased.
At that time, ATCEMS said Travis County has traditionally had the highest rate of opioid-related deaths per capita in Texas.
The Associated Press reported in May that there were 30,000 fewer U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2024 than the year before — the largest one-year decline ever recorded.
National Public Radio reported on the decline in drug-related deaths just Tuesday morning, noting the drop among young people specifically.
This story will be updated after the press conference. Refresh page to see updates.