News

Elliott says PM's comments on vaccine timeline 'very concerning' but feds say target remains early 2021 – CP24 Toronto's Breaking News

Published

4 years ago

November 27, 2020

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said Thursday that recent comments by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggesting Canadians may have to wait longer for any approved vaccines are “very concerning” and she called on Trudeau to ensure a timeline that would see Ontario get its first doses in early 2021.

“This is very concerning and very disappointing because our understanding was that this had been finalized by the federal government. Now it appears maybe it is not,” Elliott told reporters Thursday. “So it’s really incumbent on the prime minister to stand up for Canada, and make sure that we get our share of the vaccines during the timeframes that they originally stated.”

A number of companies are currently seeking FDA approval for promising vaccines, which they could receive as early as December.

While the federal government has previously said that it has secured deals for millions of doses of the not-yet-approved vaccines, Trudeau said earlier this week that Canadians might have to wait longer to get vaccinated because we don’t have strong vaccine production capacity in Canada and the first doses will likely go to people in countries where they are produced.

Some of the leading vaccine candidates are mRNA vaccines, a relatively new type of vaccine that has not been mass-produced in Canada before.

However speaking with reporters at a separate news conference Thursday, Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Ottawa is still aiming to get a vaccine to some Ontarians in the first few months of next year.

“Well, I can’t speak to where Minister Elliot is getting these ideas that Ontario will not have access to a vaccine in early 2021. In fact that’s the target that we’re shooting for,” Hajdu said.

She added that the federal government is working to procure “a diverse portfolio of a variety of different kinds of vaccines, and we are working diligently with all three of the leading manufacturers that have submitted for regulatory approval.”

Public Services and Procurement Canada said Thursday that the federal government has finalized purchase agreements with five of the seven companies it has been negotiating with, including Pfizer and Moderna, but negotiations are ongoing to finalize purchase agreements with Johnson & Johnson and Novavax.

Hajdu also said that while there is excitement about a possible vaccine, any vaccine distributed to Canadians will undergo a regulatory review by Health Canada first.

She also faced a grilling by opposition MPs in the House of Commons later Thursday, where she reiterated that the government has secured key agreements to get Canadians vaccines when they are available.

Speaking with CP24, Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Abdu Sharkawy said even if Ontario receives doses of a vaccine in the first few months of next year, people should understand that it will not mean an immediate end to the pandemic.

“I think we all need to be cognizant of the fact that even if the vaccines were going to begin delivery and deployment early in 2021, it wasn’t going to be for the vast majority of citizens, and we were going to need to focus on all the important risk mitigation strategies that have benefited us up to this point in time, and we would need to do that for several months thereafter,” he said. “So I don’t think this fundamentally changes that much for most people in our community.”

Government officials have previously said that frontline health care workers and the most vulnerable members of the population would be the first to receive any vaccine.

Premier Doug Ford told reporters at his daily news conference Thursday that he will be seeking clarification from the Prime Minister in a conference call with the premiers later tonight.

“We need to know when,” Ford said. “This is going to be the largest logistical challenge that this country’s overseen in a generation, getting these out.”

Ford said Canada can’t be “last in line” to get a vaccine.

“We can’t have our neighbours down in the states and everywhere else getting vaccines and Canada’s waiting three months as their economy starts taking off when they have the vaccine and we’re sitting back, you know twiddling our phones wondering when we’re going to get it,” Ford said. “So we need some answers from the federal government.”

Ford said he will have more to say Friday about the province’s plan to roll out a vaccine when it is available.

– With files from The Canadian Press

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Source link

News

Allen nets shutout as Devils burn Oilers 3-0

Published

1 hour ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.

The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.

Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.

TAKEAWAYS

Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.

Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.

KEY MOMENT

New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.

KEY RETURN?

Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.

OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN

The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.

The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

UP NEXT

Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

Source link

News

Mahomes throws 3 TD passes, unbeaten Chiefs beat Buccaneers 30-24 in OT

Published

1 hour ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.

DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.

Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.

Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.

Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.

It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.

The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.

Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.

Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.

The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”

Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.

The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.

Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.

UP NEXT

Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Chiefs: Host the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

—

AP NFL:

Source link

News

NHL roundup: Kuemper helps visiting Kings shut out Predators 3-0

Published

1 hour ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.

Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.

Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.

Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.

Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.

The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:

—

DEVILS 3 OILERS 0

EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.

Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.

—

Source link