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Pro B.C. rugby player suffers traumatic brain injury in car crash abroad

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B.C. rugby player Nick Allen is waking from an induced coma in Indonesia, after suffering severe injuries in a vehicle crash on Nov. 7, 2022. The long-term impact of his injuries aren’t yet known. (Photo courtesy of GoFundMe/’Nick Allen’s Recovery’)
Pyrotechnics are set off as Canada’s Nicholas Allen runs onto the field before the fifth-place game against the United States at the HSBC Canada Sevens rugby tournament, in Vancouver, Sept. 19, 2021. Allen suffered a traumatic brain injury during a vehicle crash in Bali, Indonesia on Nov. 7, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl DyckPyrotechnics are set off as Canada’s Nicholas Allen runs onto the field before the fifth-place game against the United States at the HSBC Canada Sevens rugby tournament, in Vancouver, Sept. 19, 2021. Allen suffered a traumatic brain injury during a vehicle crash in Bali, Indonesia on Nov. 7, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A B.C. rugby player is slowly waking up from a medically-induced coma in Indonesia, after suffering severe injuries to his head and arm in a vehicle crash.

Nick Allen, who has played for the University of British Columbia and Canadian National Sevens team, was traveling in Bali on Nov. 7 when the crash occurred, according to a fundraiser set up by his friends and family.

The 26-year-old was knocked unconscious and rushed to a local hospital with a traumatic brain injury and damage to his forearm and shoulder, his loved ones say. He underwent surgery and was placed in a medically-induced coma.

The true extent of Allen’s injuries won’t be known until he has fully woken up, but his friends and family say he may need physiotherapy, brain injury rehabilitation and long-term care.

“Nick is one-of-a-kind. He is one of the kindest, most caring, and strongest people we know. He has an infectious energy and laugh that radiates to everyone around him. Nick is someone who will always have your back in a tough situation. Nick needs our help now,” reads the fundraiser.

Started on Saturday (Nov. 12), it has already raised more than $135,000 of its $200,000 goal as of publication.

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The US is mailing Americans COVID tests again. Here’s how to get them

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans can once again order COVID-19 tests, without being charged, sent straight to their homes.

The U.S. government reopened the program on Thursday, allowing any household to order up to four at-home COVID nasal swab kits through the website, covidtests.gov. The tests will begin shipping, via the United States Postal Service, as soon as next week.

The website has been reopened on the heels of a summer COVID-19 virus wave and heading into the fall and winter respiratory virus season, with health officials urging Americans to get an updated COVID-19 booster and their yearly flu shot.

“Before you visit with your family and friends this holiday season, take a quick test and help keep them safe from COVID-19,” U.S. Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell said in a statement.

U.S. regulators approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine that is designed to combat the recent virus strains and, they hope, forthcoming winter ones, too. Vaccine uptake is waning, however. Most Americans have some immunity from prior infections or vaccinations, but under a quarter of U.S. adults took last fall’s COVID-19 shot.

Using the swab, people can detect current virus strains ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season and the holidays. Over-the-counter COVID-19 at-home tests typically cost around $11, as of last year. Insurers are no longer required to cover the cost of the tests.

Before using any existing at-home COVID-19 tests, you should check the expiration date. Many of the tests have been given an extended expiration from the date listed on the box. You can check on the Food and Drug Administration’s website to see if that’s the case for any of your remaining tests at home.

Since COVID-19 first began its spread in 2020, U.S. taxpayers have poured billions of dollars into developing and purchasing COVID-19 tests as well as vaccines. The Biden administration has given out 1.8 billion COVID-19 tests, including half distributed to households by mail. It’s unclear how many tests the government still has on hand.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Free COVID tests are back. Here’s how to order a test to your home

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans can once again order free COVID-19 tests sent straight to their homes.

The U.S. government reopened the program on Thursday, allowing any household to order up to four at-home COVID nasal swab kits through the website, covidtests.gov. The tests will begin shipping, via the United States Postal Service, as soon as next week.

The website has been reopened on the heels of a summer COVID-19 virus wave and heading into the fall and winter respiratory virus season, with health officials urging Americans to get an updated COVID-19 booster and their yearly flu shot.

U.S. regulators approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine that is designed to combat the recent virus strains and, they hope, forthcoming winter ones, too. Vaccine uptake is waning, however. Most Americans have some immunity from prior infections or vaccinations, but under a quarter of U.S. adults took last fall’s COVID-19 shot.

Using the swab, people can detect current virus strains ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season and the holidays. Over-the-counter COVID-19 at-home tests typically cost around $11, as of last year. Insurers are no longer required to cover the cost of the tests.

Since COVID-19 first began its spread in 2020, U.S. taxpayers have poured billions of dollars into developing and purchasing COVID-19 tests as well as vaccines. The Biden administration has given out 1.8 billion COVID-19 tests, including half distributed to households by mail. It’s unclear how many tests the government still has on hand.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Disability rights groups launching Charter challenge against MAID law

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TORONTO – A coalition of disability rights groups says it is launching a Charter challenge against a part of Canada’s law on medical assistance in dying.

The group, which also includes two individual plaintiffs, argues that what’s known as track two of the MAID law has resulted in premature deaths.

Under the law, patients whose natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable but whose condition leads to intolerable suffering can apply for a track-two assisted death.

The coalition says track two of the MAID law has had a direct effect on the lives of people with disabilities and argues medically assisted death should only be available to those whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable.

The executive vice-president of Inclusion Canada – which is part of the coalition – says there has been an alarming trend where people with disabilities are seeking assisted death due to social deprivation, poverty and a lack of essential supports.

Krista Carr says those individuals should instead be supported in order to live better lives.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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