Fairfax County stocks all schools with opioid overdose reversal medication Narcan

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - Fairfax County Schools will now stock every school in the county with Naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal medication that goes by the brand name Narcan.

A spokesperson for FCPS confirms that all 198 schools in the county will be stocked with the medication.

Previously, only school resource officers could carry the medication.

READ MORE: What is Narcan and how is it used during overdoses?

The spokesperson released the following statement about the decision:

"Across the country and in our community, opioid overdoses are on the rise. FCPS is working to educate students and families about the dangers of misusing opioids, and particularly the dangers of illicit fentanyl. As of November 18, every FCPS school is stocked with naloxone and has trained staff in each school to administer naloxone. The naloxone was provided to FCPS at no charge through a partnership with Virginia Department of Health. VDH has provided naloxone to 32 other school divisions across the Commonwealth in the past year. Narcan is a valuable resource to keep our students safe and healthy, which is our top priority."

The move comes amid a rise in teenage opioid overdoses in Fairfax County.

According to Fairfax County Health officials, so far in 2022, 37 people ages 0 to 19 have experienced an overdose in Fairfax County, surpassing numbers from previous years. Of those 37 overdoses, 4 were deadly.

A Narcan nasal spray (Photo By Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

Fairfax County launched a dashboard to help track opioid overdose data in the county.

Click here to access the dashboard.