By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN

A Drug Enforcement Administration chemist checks confiscated powder containing fentanyl at the DEA Northeast Regional Laboratory on October 8, 2019, in New York.

(CNN)A new government report out Tuesday details how opioid trafficking in the United States has changed in recent years, with Mexico now a “dominant source” of the country’s fentanyl supply and synthetic opioids rapidly saturating drug markets.

In its report, the federal Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking — a bipartisan group of US lawmakers, experts and officials from federal departments and agencies — warns that if the US does nothing to change its response to the new challenges, more American lives will be lost.

“This is one of our most-pressing national security, law enforcement, and public health challenges, and we must do more as a nation and a government to protect our most precious resource ― American lives,” said Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Democratic Rep. David Trone of Maryland, the commission’s co-chairs, in a letter included in the report.

From June 2020 to May 2021, fentanyl and synthetic opioids accounted for roughly two-thirds of the more than 100,000 deaths in the US from drug overdoses, the report found. The fatalities were mostly among Americans ages 18 to 45.

Fentanyl, a type of synthetic opioid, has been the “primary driver” of the US opioid epidemic and is 50 times more potent than heroin, according to the report. It found that while 70% to 80% of fentanyl that federal authorities seized between roughly 2014 to 2019 had come from China, Mexico is now the “dominant source” of fentanyl in the US.

Fentanyl is trafficked principally by land across the US’ southern border with Mexico, though cartels have also increased use of the US Postal Service, the report said.

The commission noted that synthetic opioids are prevalent in illegal, long-standing heroin markets, suggesting that “cheaper” and “more-potent” synthetic opioids are replacing other traditionally misused opioids.

Fentanyl, besides being laced in heroin, is also manufactured into counterfeit tablets, including brand names such as Adderall and Xanax, in “minute” quantities, which the report called “particularly troubling.” “Of deepest concern is that most consumers are not — at least initially — seeking fentanyl specifically,” the report said.

Without intervention, the US “will continue to see the number of overdoses rise as markets for illicit drugs evolve, respond, and produce an even wider variety of synthetic opioids, and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) diversify the presence of synthetic opioids in nonopioid drugs and into pills to expand the market beyond traditional opioid users,” the report warned.

Call for Cabinet-level role

The commission made several recommendations for the US to stem the flow of synthetic opioids into the country and reduce overdoses, including strengthening policy coordination, disrupting drug supply, increasing international cooperation, improving research and data collection, and establishing strategies to reduce demand, like expanding access to treatments..

As part of recommended policy changes, it called for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to be the “central authority for policymaking and interagency coordination on all drug control policy matters” and its director to be returned to a Cabinet-level role.

To disrupt drug supply, the commission recommended improving oversight and enforcement, such as offering federal grants to local law enforcement to swiftly investigate overdose deaths or having federal law enforcement partner with US social media companies to identify vendors of synthetic opioids and chemicals.

To target manufacturers and distributors, the commission recommended the US collaborate with other countries involved in producing and distributing synthetic opioids, and it suggested the US establish a policy framework to engage with China in order to improve oversight of its pharmaceutical industry and push the nation to “adopt clear rules.”

The commission also wants the US to bolster data analysis and surveillance systems to detect changes and trends in the drug market and better respond to the crisis, including developing a national early warning system and a network of wastewater testing.

In 2017, then-President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency and later signed a sweeping annual defense bill that established the commission and charged it with developing strategies to fight the flood of synthetic opioids into the US.

President Joe Biden, at the end of last year, declared a national emergency to deal with international drug trafficking, including the rise in fentanyl and synthetic opioids, along with ordering sanctions against foreign drug traffickers.

The challenge has only grown in the US, with the Covid-19 pandemic having driven increases in substance use. At the height of the pandemic, more than 1 in 10 Americans started or increased their substance use, creating greater demand for fentanyl, the report said.

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to make some money. A while after, he was offered a job as a cleaner by Palmeiras. Sometimes, he even had meals with first-team players, but would only eat soup. That intrigued goalkeeper Jailson, who found out Sousa had only seven teeth and paid for his dental treatment.

These struggles are now over, however. After Endrick’s recent success, the frontman’s father no longer works at the club.

More Romario than Ronaldo?

Despite his age, Brazil’s hottest prospect has impressed not only with his clinical finishing and nose for goal, but also with his dedication. Endrick already has eyes on the long term.

“We’ve got two examples in Vinicius Jr and Martinelli and we talk a lot about them, showing him what their daily routine is like, how they handled adversities and also took care of their bodies,” Pena said.

“It was very complicated for both of them to get where they are now. Vinicius went through difficult moments at Real Madrid, where after doing a lot of stuff and it seeming like he’d made it, he found himself out of matchday squads.

“Martinelli, too, may be back starting games again, but he spent almost a year at Arsenal without regular football. So we explain to him that it doesn’t matter if you’re a top-class player, you’ll still have to work twice as hard.

“He has this mentality and also does some work out of the club. Among other things, we pay special attention to his diet, For example, he used to have Toddynho [a popular ready-to-drink chocolate milk in Brazil] at breakfast and no longer does. He already has a fat percentage of a professional athlete.”

No-one doubts Endrick is Brazil’s next big thing – he has featured on the front page of Spanish newspaper Marca three times in a matter of weeks amid speculation linking him with Barca and Real Madrid.

When it comes to him, there seems to be only one concern among international scouts – his 5ft 6in (1.73m) stature.

“He doesn’t appear to be a player who will reach 5ft 9in (1.80m) in height, which would be the perfect prototype for a forward if we remember Ronaldo,” added Pena.

“He’ll be a shorter athlete, probably 5ft 7in to 5ft 8in tall. But considering that one of the country’s best strikers of all time was Romario and he was 5ft 4in tall, it’s safe to say he’ll be fine.”

For now, Endrick cannot play senior football or sign his first professional contract in Brazil until he turns 16 in July.

A lot of clubs will be eagerly awaiting that moment, even though Fifa rules mean he would not be able to move to Europe until he turns 18.

It is possible to reach an agreement with another team before that age, though, something Real Madrid did with Vinicius Jr when they announced in 2017 a 45m euro (£37.7m) deal to sign the forward, who joined them the following year.

Reports in Spain even suggest Real Madrid are prepared to match the fee they paid for Vinicius Jr to bring Endrick to Europe.

“There’s nothing much happening right now,” Pena said. “How would we be able to sell a player who can only leave in 2024?

“We’ve never seen someone negotiated two years before he can actually move, but obviously there’s a first time for everything and he can become the first one.”

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A member of the Jamaican bobsleigh team says he hopes they can record the nation’s highest ever placing at a Winter Olympics.

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Post-Covid protection: what happens after you get the virus? Viewing Omicron infection as a ‘natural booster’ which makes a third vaccine dose unnecessary is unwise, experts say. If I’ve been infected with Omicron, what is my risk of catching it, or another Covid variant, again? It is now clear that it is possible to catch Covid more than once, including strains you have previously been infected with. It is also known that being infected with Covid-19 boosts your protection from reinfection. What is less clear is how long that extra protection against the same strain lasts – and whether it is as effective against other strains. A small laboratory study published in December suggests one reason Omicron is replacing Delta is that being infected with Omicron offers a high level of protection against Delta, while the reverse is not true. Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the Covid-19 technical lead with the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program, said another reason for a sharp increase in Omicron cases in recent weeks was its potential for “immune escape”. “This means people can be reinfected either if they had a previous infection, or if they’ve been vaccinated,” she said. “Now you have to remember, vaccines are incredibly effective at preventing severe disease and death, but they don’t prevent all infections and they don’t prevent all onward transmission. So it is still absolutely critical to get vaccinated because it will save your life, but it doesn’t prevent all infections or transmission.” How long could protection from infection last? Kirby Institute virologist Associate Prof Stuart Turville said Omicron has only been around a couple of months so it was too early to estimate the risk of reinfection or how long any protection from an infection lasts. Covid becoming endemic doesn’t mean it will be mild – or that there won’t be new variants. “We can only base our answer on what we have observed in previous variants,” he said. “Several large studies from Qatar have looked at reinfections.” A recent preprint from Qatar states: “Protection afforded by prior infection in preventing symptomatic reinfection with Alpha, Beta, or Delta is robust, at about 90%. “While such protection against reinfection with Omicron is lower, it is still considerable at nearly 60%. Prior-infection protection against hospitalisation or death at reinfection appears robust, regardless of variant.” How long this protection lasts is unclear and depends on factors including the number of vaccinations, whether you’re immune-suppressed, and the length of time since vaccination. If I caught Delta last year and am also double-vaccinated am I safe from Omicron? Turville said a complicating factor to immune response is the severity of any Covid-19 infection. His research team are examining people infected with Delta in late 2020 onwards to see how their antibodies hold-up post-vaccination. “If you were infected and then vaccinated with two doses of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer, your response is very similar to three doses of Pfizer,” he said. “But that’s assuming you have a decent response to the virus initially. If you have had an initial low response to the virus, your response will be driven more by the vaccine dose. As a broad brushstroke, if you had a mild case of Covid in 2020, your response will be relatively low. If you had a case that made you very sick, so high disease severity, you will have had a better response. I’ve had two vaccine doses and I caught Covid. Do I really need a booster, and if so, how soon after infection? There is no need to delay vaccination. Health guidelines state you can get a booster once you have fully recovered from the virus, which for most people is four-to-six weeks after infection. In the short-term boosters can further strengthen your protection up to 86% against reinfection and 98% against serious illness, NSW Health states. The independent expert advisory group on vaccination, Atagi, says the same thing, and that “previous infection is not a contraindication to vaccination … vaccination can occur following recovery of acute illness from Covid-19”. Atagi also decreased the maximum timeframe allowable for deferral of vaccination after Covid infection from six months to four months but suggests those with very severe Covid cases should check with their doctor. Atagi decreased the timeframe “due to the increased risk of re-infection with the Omicron variant, particularly for those who had a Delta variant infection in 2021,” the guidelines state. Turville said viewing Omicron as a “natural booster” making a third vaccine dose unnecessary was unwise. “That exercise is an uncontrolled experiment where you will have no control of the dosage, or in other words the level of viral infection, and thus the outcome,” he said. “Vaccination is a set dosage that is safe with a predictable response in most people.” I’m triple-vaccinated and caught Covid. How soon after recovering can I catch Covid again? World better protected against Covid if rich nations donated 50% of vaccines to low-income countries “It is a great question but one we will likely only know in the next few months,” Turville said. “In brief, we do not know as the numbers of people in that setting are on the low side and it will take a while to study in cohorts where people have volunteered for researchers to follow their response. The other issue is this will change with future variants.” I’ve just recovered from Covid and finished isolating, and I’m vaccinated. I’m now a close-contact of someone with Covid. Do I really need to isolate again? The advice is similar in each state and territory. In Victoria, if a recently recovered Covid-19 case becomes a close contact of a confirmed case, they do not need to quarantine again if the re-exposure was less than 30 days since the recovered case’s onset of symptoms, or since their first positive test if they had no symptoms. In the ACT, if you are identified as a household or high-risk close contact, or a moderate risk casual contact within four weeks of your clearance from isolation, you do not need to isolate again. The ACT advice states if you have recovered from Covid while there is still someone in your household who has it, you can leave the house, but must separate from other people with Covid-19 in the household as much as possible and observe hand hygiene, mask wearing and social distancing as per public health advice. Queensland Health advice states that you are not a close contact if you have had Covid-19 in the past four weeks. It is best to check with your state or territory health department if you are unsure, and for definitions of “close contact”, which have changed over time. =================================================== US: Experts open door to lifting mask rules

© Getty Images

The White House is preparing to pivot on the pandemic — but with a different approach than the July 4 celebration last summer that some have subsequently criticized as premature.

At the Independence Day event, President Biden declared near “independence” from COVID-19.

What followed were the delta and omicron variants, which caused spikes in cases and hospitalizations, contributing to the COVID-19 fatigue that has been a factor in declining approval numbers for President Biden.

The omicron variant is showing signs of fading: Coronavirus cases are on the decline across the country. The White House is signaling that the new phase is about being able to live with the virus.

But there is caution in Democratic circles after the bad turns from last summer and fall.

What’s next: Biden administration officials haven’t said much publicly about their plans and have made clear they’re still focused on ushering the country through the current surge of the pandemic.

It’s also unclear whether or when Biden himself plans to outline the way forward in the pandemic. White House officials and health experts say the country still has some time before reaching some kind of “new normal.”

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A group of civic-minded persons of the St. James Parish on Nevis has donated equipment to the St. James Primary School during a brief handing over ceremony at the school’s library on February 04, 2022.

During a short but significant event, six bean bags were presented to the school’s deputy principal Ms. Chrislin Jeffers by the Butlers Enhancement and Improvement Association through its secretary Ms. Regan Jeffers to enhance the student’s learning experience.

“The St. James Primary School as you know, is not only a part of the community but is the main institution of the delivery of primary education and training. As such the association strongly believes that we need to continue to contribute and give back to the educational and academic needs of the St. James Primary students…

The six bean bag chairs… creates a much more comfortable and user-friendly learning environment for the students when they are using the library,” she said.

Ms. Jeffers assured that moving forward there would be other donations to improve and enhance the school in keeping with one of its goals.

She said when the 40-member association was established in 2021, as a non-profit organisation, its main goal was to give back to their community in all areas of life including education.

In response to the gift, the deputy principal thanked the association for the kind gesture on behalf of the school’s principal, staff and students.

“[We] would like to extend gratitude to the Butlers Enhancement and Improvement Association for this generous donation of bean bags to our school’s library.

“The students are excited to use them, and we can assure you they will be put to good use. We commend your efforts and again say a hearty thank you for your contribution,” she said.

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NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS– The following is a notice from the Ministry of Agriculture in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) regarding the importation of plant material.

The general public, in particular businesses who will be preparing for Valentine’s Day and other events, are hereby reminded that you are required to obtain an Import Permit from the Department of Agriculture before placing an order to import plant material. 

Imported live plants, cut flowers and branches, seeds and produce require an Import Permit from the Department and a Phytosanitary Certificate from the country of export in order to be permitted entry.

Please visit or contact the Plant Quarantine Unit in the Department of Agriculture (St. Kitts) at 467-1826 or Department of Agriculture (Nevis) at 469-5521 ext. 6511 for more information.

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