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Amazon Canada adds health disclaimer to searches for ivermectin – CBC.ca

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Amazon Canada has taken action on its platform to prevent shoppers from purchasing ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19. 

The medicine is used to treat parasites in humans and animals but the formulations are different.

Health Canada issued an advisory on Tuesday asking people not to take the drug to treat COVID-19, after CBC News reported that some people were attempting to take the veterinary form of the medicine intended for livestock, likely due to misinformation circulating about its efficacy for that purpose. 

“There is no evidence that ivermectin in either [the human or veterinary] formulation is safe or effective when used for those purposes,” the federal agency warned on Tuesday. 

“The human version of ivermectin is authorized for sale in Canada only for the treatment of parasitic worm infections in people.

“The veterinary version of ivermectin, especially at high doses, can be dangerous for humans and may cause serious health problems such as vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure … coma and even death.”

CBC News reported on Monday that dozens of social media posts appeared to show Canadians attempting to or successfully acquiring ivermectin from online stores such as Amazon in recent months.

At the time, some versions of the medicine intended for treating horses were available for sale on the site from third-party vendors, but those listings have since disappeared. Tongue-in-cheek reviews left on the U.S. site suggested shoppers were using it for humans rather than livestock. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, searches for ivermectin on Amazon Canada now come with a disclaimer linking to Health Canada’s warning that the medication should not be used to treat COVID-19. (Amazon Canada)

Amazon Canada said Wednesday, in a response to a request from CBC News sent on the weekend, that it doesn’t offer ivermectin even though some over-the-counter products are authorized for sale in Canada. 

The company said its top priority is customer safety and that it has added a disclaimer to search listings for the drug.

That disclaimer appeared to change over the course of the day Wednesday, initially linking to Health Canada’s coronavirus information page and later to the federal agency’s warning about ivermectin.

Search results for ivermectin also appear to have changed. Now when a shopper searches for “ivermectin COVID,” no results are listed, just the disclaimer that warns against taking the medicine for that purpose. A search for “ivermectin horse” brings up other care products for the animals, from vitamins to other deworming medicines.

And suggested search results no longer pair the term “ivermectin” with “COVID-19.”

Tech companies have struggled with how to keep misinformation off of their platforms throughout the pandemic. Some have updated their policies, removed posts or added disclaimers, but it’s proven to be an ongoing challenge as new claims frequently emerge. 

Health Canada said it’s closely monitoring all potential treatments for COVID-19, including ivermectin.

“Should a manufacturer provide a submission to Health Canada related to the use of ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19, Health Canada would conduct a scientific evaluation of the evidence to determine the drug’s quality, safety and effectiveness,” the agency said. 

A full list of drugs and vaccinations authorized for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 is available on Health Canada’s website. 

There are more than 32,000 active COVID-19 cases in Canada. 

Doctors say the most effective prevention for COVID-19 is available free of charge and doesn’t need to be ordered on Amazon: vaccination. 

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A linebacker at West Virginia State is fatally shot on the eve of a game against his old school

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.

The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.

Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.

West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.

Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.

“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”

Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.

West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.

“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”

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AP college football: and

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Hall of Famer Joe Schmidt, who helped Detroit Lions win 2 NFL titles, dies at 92

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DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.

The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.

One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.

“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”

Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.

“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”

Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.

Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.

In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.

“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”

Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.

Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.

Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.

“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”

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Coastal GasLink fined $590K by B.C. environment office over pipeline build

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VICTORIA – British Columbia’s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.

The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.

It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.

The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.

Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.

The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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