Why it matters: Overdose deaths seem to be falling as pandemic-era isolation ebbs and access to life-saving medications like Naloxone grows.

Driving the news: The age-adjusted rate of U.S. fatal drug overdoses fell from 32.6 per 100,000 people in 2022 to 31.3 in 2023, the CDC says.

Yes, but: States like Alaska, Oregon and Washington bucked the national trend, reporting major increases in their fatal OD rates.

Caveat: Some areas with big drops in their overdose rate still have relatively high absolute numbers.

Between the lines: A recent report from specialty lab Millennium Health highlighted a "rising tide" of heroin co-use among fentanyl users -- part of the "fourth wave" of the overdose epidemic, as the group put it.

The bottom line: The broad national data shows a welcome trend, but the opioid crisis rages on in some pockets of the country like a wildfire stubbornly refusing to be snuffed out.