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RCMP alerted to suspicious offers to sell Canada additional vaccines: Anand – CTV News

Published

4 years ago

February 20, 2021

OTTAWA —
With pressure to increase the supply of vaccines, Procurement Minister Anita Anand is sounding the alarm over “a number” of suspicious entities offering to sell what are likely counterfeit doses of vaccines to governments in Canada.

In an interview on CTV’s Question Period airing on Sunday, Anand said that her department has had “a number of intermediaries or suppliers offering to sell us doses” of major vaccines and that the offers were referred to the RCMP.

“We believe that they are somewhat of a security concern,” Anand said.

The minister said her department was surprised by these entities posing as suppliers trying to sell doses of vaccines, including Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots, given the government is in close touch with these companies about what vaccines are coming into Canada and when.

Anand did not specify who is making these offers for rushed additional vaccine doses — something Canada’s been waiting on — other than to describe them as “private companies, individuals [and] suppliers.”

“They are under investigation now so I will leave that to the RCMP and the investigative process. But that’s to say that we are guarding our vaccine supply chain very carefully,” she said.

While the minister said it’s something the RCMP is investigating, the agency’s national division would not confirm the status of the file.

“To fulfil our mandate, we maintain lines of communications with many federal agencies including Public Services and Procurement Canada. The pandemic has created large procurement opportunities which led to PSPC and the RCMP to exchange communications. However, we are not able to comment any further on the matter at this juncture,” said the RCMP in a statement.

The minister said she’s concerned about what are either attempts to sell phoney vaccines or outright scams targeting other jurisdictions, including Canadian provinces and municipalities.

“There [have] certainly been examples of attempts to sell fraudulent products or at least—just like what you would expect with other products—attempts by different entities to try and convince us at different levels that they have access to quantities and that they can provide in the millions different types of vaccines,” said Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin in a separate interview.

He encouraged provinces or territories to let the federal government know if they receive similar offers, and they’ll ensure law enforcement and national security agencies take “the appropriate actions.”

Anand likened the current suspect vaccine offers to the “wild west” she experienced when looking to procure COVID-19 personal protective equipment, like N95 masks, in the early days of the pandemic, which included illegitimate entities offering ineffective products.

The federal government has alerted the major vaccine manufacturers in an attempt combat these attempts, with both Pfizer and AstraZeneca confirming to CTV’s Question Period that these offers for doses are not for legitimate supplies of their vaccines.

“Over the past several weeks we have become aware of a few organizations that have reached directly out to the federal and provincial governments in an attempt to sell AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine,” said AstraZeneca’s head of corporate affairs Carlo Mastrangelo in an email. “We have communicated to the governments that if an organization is offering the private supply of our AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, it is likely not a legitimate offer. We have also reached out to the RCMP.”

Pfizer Canada’s director of corporate affairs Christina Antoniou said the company is aware of “fraudulent emails to Canadian government authorities providing procurement offerings” for its vaccines, and that their shots are “only available” through Pfizer and “cannot be procured through any ‘broker’ or ‘distributor’ claiming to have procurement or distribution authority of the vaccine.”

“We are taking meticulous steps to reduce the risk of counterfeiting, and we track trends very carefully and have processes in place to identify threats to the legitimate supply chain,” Antoniou said.

Canadians are cautioned to not try to secure vaccines online, and to only get vaccinated at certified locations by approved administrators.

With files from CTV News’ Ian Wood and Noah Richardson

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Allen nets shutout as Devils burn Oilers 3-0

Published

8 hours 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.

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

Published

8 hours 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.

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AP NFL:

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

Published

8 hours 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:

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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.

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