THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2021 Page 13 DEA: ‘One Pill Can Kill’ T he holiday season presents an opportunity to promote awareness of substance misuse and the widespread availability of dangerous substances. Many young adults are being exposed to illicit substances. Individuals experiencing isolation, loss or loneliness during the holidays might turn to misusing substances for relief. Check in with family and friends and have important conversations about counterfeit pills. The U.S. overdose epidemic has reached a tragic level. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the most recent 12-month reporting period show that more than 100,000 people died due to drug overdoses – primarily from fentanyl and methamphetamine. That is the equivalent of one death every fi ve minutes due to an overdose. This year the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has seized 15,000 pounds of fentanyl – a record amount – which is the equivalent of 440 million lethal doses. Criminal drug networks are exploiting the U.S. opioid crisis by mass-producing fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills that they’re distributing to all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These deadly, fake pills are made and marketed to look like genuine, prescription medicine. DEA laboratory analysis has shown that four out of 10 fake pills with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose. Fake pills are widely available. Criminal drug networks take advantage of the anonymity and accessibility social media platforms off er to push deadly drugs more quickly, easily and cheaply than ever before. Drug traffi ckers are even using emojis as code when buying and selling deadly drugs on social media platforms. • Know the dangers of deadly drugs online. • Never take medicine that wasn’t prescribed to you by your own doctor. • Talk to your family and friends about the danger of buying drugs online. • Spread the word that One Pill Can Kill. Facts about counterfeit pills Criminal drug networks are mass-producing fake pills and falsely marketing them as legitimate prescription pills to deceive the American public. Counterfeit DANGER | SEE Page 17 Breakthrough case review finds 97 percent of COVID-19 cases in vaccinated individuals don’t result in severe illness O n December 20, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) released a review of breakthrough COVID-19 cases in vaccinated Massachusetts residents and found nearly 97 percent of all breakthrough cases in the Commonwealth have not resulted in hospitalization or death. Additionally, the review found unvaccinated residents are fi ve times more likely to become infected than fully vaccinated residents (two doses of the Moderna or Pfi zer vaccine or one dose of Johnson & Johnson) and unvaccinated residents are 31 times more likely to become infected than fully vaccinated residents who have received a booster. The review also found that 99.9 percent of breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated people under the age of 60 did not result in death. Among the breakthrough cases for residents over the age of 60, 97 percent did not result in death. No deaths have been reported in breakthrough cases among those under age 30. “The data are clear. This review shows that fully vaccinated people in Massachusetts have nearuniversal protection from severe illness and death and that boosters are demonstrating even stronger protection from COVID,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders. “Amid the season of gathering indoors and the emerging Omicron variant, the time to get vaccinated and boosted is now. It is the best gift of protection for yourself and your loved ones.” “Vaccination continues to be the most eff ective tool we have against Omicron and all COVID-19 variants,” said Acting DPH Commissioner Margret Cooke. “The data indicates that fully vaccinated and boosted individuals are well protected from severe outcomes of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death and the Department of Public Health strongly urges all residents to get vaccinated and, when appropriate, get a booster.” Police Activities League offi cers, pictured from left to right: Sgt. Joseph Internicola, Offi cer Christopher Alas, Offi cer Gina Bertrand, School Resource Offi cer Bryan Brenes, Sgt. Michael D’Amore, Offi cer Steven Ahern and Sgt. Milton Alfaro. Malden High School Junior Varsity Boys’ Basketball Golden Tornadoes, pictured from left to right: Junior Varsity Boys Basketball Coach Daniel Jurkowski, Earl Fervier, Jose Ferreira, Christian Calon, Addissu Tsige, Kevin Gonzalez, Savian Silva-Clark and Nathan Sullivan. They won 30-29. Malden High School Freshmen Boys’ Basketball Golden Tornadoes, pictured from left to right: kneeling: Matthew Brito, Noah Masood, Christopher McDonald, Thomas Tierney, Johnson Hyuutt, Kevin Exilhomme and Joseph Pinet; back row: Freshmen Boys’ Basketball Coach Wiston Jeune, Wyatt Dessert, Bakona Itou, Christopher Rodriguez, James Hyppolite, Dwayne St. Vil and Stanley Jiang. They won 30-27 during Monday’s Police Activities League holiday hoops basketball tournament at Revere High School. BASKETBALL | FROM Page 10
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