NEBRASKA- More than 200 Nebraskans died of drug overdoses in 2020, an increase of nearly 43% from the previous year, according to a new federal report.

In the report, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that Nebraska tallied 209 drug overdose deaths in 2020, compared to 146 in 2019. The country as a whole saw a new peak of 93,000 such deaths last year, an increase of 29% from more than 72,000 overdose deaths in 2019. The data are considered provisional, according to the agency.

While the report does not outline the reasons behind the increase, Dr. Alëna Balasanova, an addiction psychiatrist with Nebraska Medicine, said she suspects factors tied to the pandemic — loss of access to addiction treatment services and the social and economic stresses of the pandemic itself — plus an influx of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.

In Nebraska, Balasanova said, methamphetamines, not opioids, as in some other states, have been the predominant contributor.

Currently, providers are seeking to get the word out that people can get help, Balasanova said. Nebraska Medicine just added one addiction specialist and will bring another on board in August.

“The need is out there,” she said. “A lot of folks don’t realize help is available.”

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