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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Public Health's May
32022 report recorded 3,013 fatalities that occurred in 2021
4due to opioid overdoses; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The 3,013 Illinois opioid overdose deaths
6represent a 2.3% increase from 2020 and a 35.8% spike from
72019; and
 
8    WHEREAS, In 2021, toxicology testing found that 2,672
9(89%) of the opioid fatalities involved a synthetic opioid,
10such as fentanyl; and
 
11    WHEREAS, A 4 milligram naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray
12has been the principal tool used by bystanders and emergency
13medical services (EMS) to revive an individual from an
14overdose episode; and
 
15    WHEREAS, A study, published in the Harm Reduction Journal
16in May 2022, surveyed 125 adult U.S. residents who had been
17administered a 4 milligram naloxone nasal spray during an
18opioid overdose and found that 78% used 2 or more doses and 30%
19used 3 or more doses of naloxone; and
 
20    WHEREAS, A 2021 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public

 

 

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1Health study published in the Harm Reduction Journal reported
2on a survey of 171 people who use opioids in suburban Maryland;
3sixty-one (35.7%) of these people who use opioids had received
4take-home naloxone over a six month period; 57% of naloxone
5recipients used it to reverse an overdose; 79% of overdose
6reversals reported needing more than 2 doses; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Published by the National Library of Medicine, a
8study of the National Emergency Medical Services Information
9System Database of more than 10,000 EMS agencies across 47
10states with 946,000 calls giving naloxone shows that use of
11naloxone multi-dosing by EMS increased 54% over five-years,
12from 18.4% to 28.4% in 2020; and
 
13    WHEREAS, On April 30, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug
14Administration approved a higher 8 milligram dose of naloxone
15hydrochloride nasal spray product to treat opioid overdose;
16and
 
17    WHEREAS, On October 19, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug
18Administration also approved a single-dose, pre-filled syringe
19that delivers 5 milligrams of naloxone hydrochloride solution
20through intramuscular (in the muscle) or subcutaneous (under
21the skin) injection; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Thirty-four U.S. states have open access to the 8

 

 

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1milligram naloxone nasal spray on their Naloxone Standing
2Orders, including Ohio, Kentucky, Iowa, Pennsylvania,
3Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, Alabama, Florida,
4Tennessee, Colorado, Alaska, New Hampshire, Illinois, Arizona,
5Kansas, California, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, North
6Carolina, West Virginia, Michigan, Connecticut, Oklahoma,
7Minnesota, Maine, Louisiana, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Nebraska,
8and Vermont; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Thirteen state government agencies have purchased
10the 8 milligram naloxone nasal spray, including Alabama,
11Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, New
12Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and West
13Virginia; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The U.S. Veterans Administration added the 8
15milligram naloxone nasal spray to the National Formulary in
16November 2021; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Seventy percent of the number of lives covered by
18commercial insurance in the U.S. can access the 8 milligram
19naloxone nasal spray; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Ninety percent of the number of lives covered by
21Medicaid insurance in the U.S. (40 states) can access the 8
22milligram naloxone nasal spray, including Illinois; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The current cost of the 4 milligram naloxone
2nasal spray is $5.93 per milligram and the 8 milligram version
3is $3.75 per milligram, or 36.7 percent less; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Being good stewards of taxpayer money is a
5priority for the Illinois General Assembly; therefore, be it
 
6    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
7ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we strongly urge the
8Illinois Department of Human Services to review the value of
9expanding its naloxone tool kit to include all U.S. Food and
10Drug Administration-approved versions of naloxone or other
11FDA-approved products to fight the Illinois opioid epidemic;
12and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
14delivered to the Governor of Illinois, the Governor's Chief
15Behavioral Health Officer, the Secretary of the Department of
16Human Services, and the Director of the Division of Substance
17Use, Prevention and Recovery.