Deaths in Vermont caused by overdoses dropped 25% in 2025 compared with the previous year, continuing a steady decline since 2022, according to a yearly report published by the Vermont Department of Health.
The report, which tracks the number of deaths reported due to overdoses and what drugs caused the overdoses, found that 170 Vermonters died from overdoses in 2025, which is a 37% decrease in overdose deaths following a historic peak in 2022 with 269 deaths. The data is preliminary, the report said, noting that 12 death certificates were pending at the time of the analysis.
“It’s encouraging to see the number of overdose deaths declining in Vermont. However, we can’t let our foot off the gas because there’s still more work to be done to help those struggling with addiction,” Gov. Phil Scott said Thursday in a press release announcing the report.
“We’ll continue to invest in proven strategies because overdose deaths have impacted far too many Vermonters and families,” he wrote.
Overdose deaths in 2025 were mainly caused by opioids like fentanyl, often in combination with stimulants like cocaine, the report found. The number of deaths involving most substances sharply decreased from 2024 to 2025. Most significantly, Xylazine-involved deaths decreased 67% from 76 in 2024 to 25 in 2025.
Xylazine, a veterinary drug not approved for human use, became a common additive to street opioids and was a significant contributor to accidental overdoses in 2022. The tranquilizer meant for animals is not affected by opioid overdose reversal medications like Naloxone, making it especially dangerous.
The decrease in deaths in Vermont is part of a larger national trend, according to Vermont Department of Health Interim Deputy Commissioner Shayla Livingston. Yet Vermont has seen one of the steepest drops in the nation, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“No overdose death should ever be reduced to a statistic. Each one represents a person whose life was cut far too short,” said Health Commissioner Rick Hildebrant in a press release. “At the same time, this sustained decrease in overdose deaths is a meaningful milestone and reinforces our guiding principles in how we approach substance use disorder: prevention works, treatment is effective and people recover.”
Vermont has made significant investments to combat overdoses and has received millions from opioid manufacturer settlements, which have helped pay for programs across the state.
“Our treatment, our intervention, our harm reduction, our recovery services, those are working,” Livingston said. “It’s really important that we continue that work and that we don’t let up.”
Livingston said that they are also seeing a decrease in the number of people showing up to emergency rooms with nonfatal overdoses, but that it may not show the whole picture of opioid use, in large part because of the accessibility to Naloxone. More people are able to reverse overdoses outside of a hospital setting, either at home or with intervention from a community member, according to Livingston.
Yet preventing a death gives a person a chance to access the state’s treatment and recovery infrastructure, according to Livingston.
“I think there can be a lot of empathy fatigue with this disease, and I understand that, but I think it’s really critical that we think about it as a chronic illness, and that we remind people that people recover,” Livingston said.
“Every time somebody doesn’t die, that means we get another chance,” she said.
This story was republished with permission from VtDigger, which offers its reporting at no cost to local news organizations through its Community News Sharing Project. To learn more, visit vtdigger.org/community-news-sharing-project.