Naloxone, often sold under the brand name Narcan, is seen as a major factor in declining drug overdose deaths. The White House says more companies are agreeing to make the medication available at work sites, in classrooms and at other locations where drug fatalities occur. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America hide caption
A drug overdose rescue kit is pictured in Buffalo, N.Y. The Biden administration plans to increase access to clean needles, fentanyl test strips and naloxone to combat drug overdose deaths. Carolyn Thompson/AP hide caption
Louise Vincent, executive director of the North Carolina Survivors Union, holds a vial of the overdose reversal drug naloxone. "Almost everyone that comes here is alive because of naloxone," Vincent says. Aneri Pattani/KHN hide caption
A man who goes by the name Dave Carvagio holds a packaged syringe in Pickering Square in Bangor, Maine. The Bangor chapter of the Church of Safe Injection sets up a table in the square and offers free naloxone, needles and other drug-using supplies. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption
One person has died and a total of 12 people were taken to the hospital after a mass drug overdose in Chico, Calif. Above, syringes of the opiate fentanyl appear at an inpatient pharmacy. Rick Bowmer/AP hide caption
"People have to be alive to get the help that they need," said Brittney Webster, who got free naloxone at a health center in Carlisle, Pa. Brett Sholtis/WITF hide caption
Isela was denied life insurance because her medication list showed a prescription for the opioid-reversal drug naloxone. The Boston Medical Center nurse says she wants to have the drug on hand so she can save others. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption
A view inside Rhode Island's John J. Moran Medium Security Prison, in Cranston. Rhode Island is the only state to screen every individual who comes into the correctional system for opioid use disorder, and to offer, in conjunction with with counseling, all three medically effective treatments. Andrew Burton/Getty Images hide caption
A Philadelphia police officer holds a package of the overdose antidote naloxone while on patrol in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia in April 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
The contents of the naloxone kit inside an AED box located in the VA West Roxbury cafeteria. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption
Pennsylvania on Wednesday ordered its 21 correctional facilities on lockdown amid a rash of drug-related illnesses among prison staff. Jacqueline Larma/AP hide caption
A man holds a sample of the opioid antidote Narcan during a training session at a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene office in March. Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
The Surgeon General recommends more Americans carry naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote. Jake Harper/Side Effects Public Media hide caption
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 15: U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill November 15, 2017 in Washington, DC. Adams testified about community-level health promotion programs and businesses that offer incentives to employees that practice healthy lifestyles. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
A young man uses heroin under a bridge in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, a neighborhood that has become a hub for heroin use. The economic costs of the epidemic are mounting, researchers say, as the U.S. loses more and more workers in their prime. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
An overdose rescue kit handed out at an overdose prevention class this summer in New York City includes an injectable form of the drug naloxone. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
A man checks out an anti-overdose kit he was given at a clinic. With America confronting an opioid epidemic, Walgreens says it will stock naloxone spray at all of its pharmacies. Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images hide caption
First responders in Washington, D.C., bring naloxone on every emergency call. Shelby Knowles/NPR hide caption
Andrea Towson used heroin for more than three decades. After a near-death experience with fentanyl, she sought help. Shelby Knowles/NPR hide caption
Some medical professionals say declaring a national emergency could make Naloxone, a drug that treats opioid overdoses, more readily available. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption
Medicaid spending on medications used to treat opioid addiction has risen sharply in recent years. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption