First responders save 58 lives with opioid-overdose antidote

Published 8:31 am Thursday, August 9, 2018

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Officials say the lives of 58 people have been saved by first responders using the opioid-overdose antidote in Mississippi.
News outlets cite statistics in reports saying the lives have been saved over the last year by law enforcement officers and other first responders using naloxone.

Stand Up, Mississippi was launched in August 2017 to distribute the drug to first responders. The initiative is a collaboration of seven state and federal agencies.

State Department of Public Safety Commissioner Marshall Fisher says it would have been a success if anyone was saved. He says helping the 58 people is good, but only progress in the opioid crisis.

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The state Department of Mental Health has distributed roughly 10,000 doses of naloxone and trained nearly 6,000 personnel at more than 200 first responder agencies.