CDC's overdose dashboard shows a real decline, but the fine print matters. The provisional series is published with lag and remains less complete in recent months, which means the trend can be encouraging without being final. [1] [2]\n\nThe prior edition put the decline beside the pre-2020 baseline. This brief keeps the measurement caveat visible: political victory laps and street-supply theories both outrun a provisional dataset if they ignore reporting delay, predicted values and revision risk. [1] [2]

-- NORA WHITFIELD, Chicago