It’s a scientific principle that when a vacuum is created, other forces rush to fill it. The same applies to politics, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is paying the price.
“China eats weird animals disease”
During Pandemic, China Sent Millions of Counterfeit Masks, Test Kits to US: Customs Data
China accounted for about 51 percent of counterfeit or substandard COVID-19-related products seized by U.S. customs officials from October 2019 to Sept. 30 last year, according to a newly-released report from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Among the products seized by U.S. customs officials were over 12.7 million counterfeit masks, 177,356 COVID-19 test kits prohibited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and 38,098 FDA-prohibited chloroquine tablets.
When will life return to normal? In 7 years at today’s vaccine rates -10 years for Trudeau’s Canada
In Canada it’s going to take more than 10 years at this rate
When will the pandemic end? It’s the question hanging over just about everything since COVID-19 took over the world last year. The answer can be measured in vaccinations.
Bloomberg has built the biggest database of COVID-19 shots given around the world, with more than 119 million doses administered worldwide. U.S. science officials such as Anthony Fauci have suggested it will take 70 per cent to 85 per cent coverage of the population for things to return to normal. Bloomberg’s Vaccine Tracker shows that some countries are making far more rapid progress than others, using 75 per cent coverage with a two-dose vaccine as a target.
How Ottawa utterly botched Canada’s COVID vaccine acquisition
It’s now becoming increasingly clear that as the world mobilizes to immunize itself against COVID-19, Canada is falling seriously behind. At a time when more than half of Israelis have gotten the jab, Canada has only two per cent of its population vaccinated. Recent analysis by The Economist found that while virtually all of Europe will be fully vaccinated by the end of this year, the earliest Canada can hope for is mid-2022. And in one of the sharpest rebukes to Canada’s pandemic performance yet, the federal government has tapped into a global vaccine-sharing pool initially meant for developing nations.
Retired Toronto Police officer’s view on enforcing stay-at-home order
I am a retired police inspector who served 11 years with the Metropolitan Police, in England, and over 32 years with the Toronto Police Service.
During my career I gained wide and varied experiences.
Ontario reports 1,670 new Covid Cases … as the Job market dies of the Lockdown flu
Ontario is reporting 1,670 cases of #COVID19 and over 62,700 tests completed. Locally, there are 667 new cases in Toronto, 317 in Peel, 125 in York Region and 100 in Halton.
As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 362,749 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) February 5, 2021
Canada lost 213,000 jobs in January as lockdowns took a giant bite out of the job market
Canada’s economy lost 213,000 jobs in January, about five times more than what economists were expecting, as retail lockdowns forced more businesses to close their doors across the country.
Statistics Canada reported Friday that the jobless rate ticked up 0.6 percentage points to 9.4 per cent. That’s the highest level since August. Overall employment also fell to its lowest level since that month.
A brief look at the seven vaccines Canada has pre-ordered
Between July 24 and Oct. 22, Canada signed deals to pre-order seven COVID-19 vaccines. Here’s a brief look at what we know about those vaccines, listed by manufacturer.
Canada doesn’t know how many more Moderna doses will be delivered, or why there are delays
Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander leading vaccine logistics at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), said today Canada doesn’t know how many Moderna doses will arrive in the weeks ahead and the company hasn’t said why it has reduced shipments to our country.
Speaking to reporters at a public health briefing, Fortin said 180,000 Moderna doses arrived this morning but the government has no “visibility” on how many more shots will be delivered this month and next.
CNN: Consider Masks ‘Your New Best Friend’ to ‘Cherish and Appreciate for a Good, Long Time’
CNN is attempting to cozy up Americans to the idea of masks sticking around for the long run, likening them in an article Wednesday to a best friend whom people “cherish and appreciate for a good, long time.” The piece addresses questions individuals who receive a vaccine for the Chinese coronavirus will likely ask.
Diane Francis: Made-in-Canada vaccine announcement was little more than smoke and mirrors
This week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced two deals designed to produce COVID-19 vaccines on Canadian soil by the end of the year. But even that timeline — which won’t see Canadian-produced vaccines until well after the government’s self-imposed deadline of having enough doses to vaccinate the entire population by September — is unlikely to be met, according to an expert with many years’ experience in the industry.
Will small business rebel and reopen on Feb. 11? Those fighting COVID-19 lockdown rules risk heavy fines, experts say
No matter how frustrated they are with COVID-19 lockdowns, small business owners would be making a potentially costly mistake by opening their doors when they’re not allowed to, government officials and small business advocates say.
That message comes as an anti-lockdown group called “We Are All Essential” is urging businesses across the country to reopen Feb. 11 — the day after Ontario’s 28-day stay-at-home order is scheduled to expire — in defiance of orders.
Nine out of 10 Canadians have seen COVID-19 misinformation online: Statistics Canada
The survey published Tuesday shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has come with what they are calling an ‘infodemic’, an overabundance of information, some true and some false.
“So that makes it very difficult for people to find facts and reliable sources,” Nicole Minnema, Analysis Project Manager with Statistics Canada, told CityNews.
“The untrue part of that is what we classify as misinformation which is false or inaccurate information which sometimes is intended to deliberately deceive.”
Ontario reports 1,563 new Covid cases … and the WHO says everything Hunky Dory in Wuhan
Ontario is reporting 1,563 cases of #COVID19 and nearly 64,500 tests completed. Locally, there are 584 new cases in Toronto, 265 in Peel and 132 in York Region.
As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 355,055 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) February 4, 2021
Wanna a good laugh?
WHO team in Wuhan says discussions open, meetings frank
WUHAN, CHINA — One of the World Health Organization investigators looking for clues into the origin of the coronavirus in the central Chinese city of Wuhan said that the Chinese side has provided a high level of co-operation.
In a tweet, zoologist and team member Peter Daszak praised Wednesday’s meetings with staff at the key Wuhan Institute of Virology, including with Deputy Director is Shi Zhengli, a virologist who worked with Daszak to track down the origins of SARS that originated in China and led to the 2003 outbreak.
BBC Headline: Canada defends taking vaccines from scheme for poor
Canada has defended its decision to draw on a supply of coronavirus vaccines from a global inoculation-sharing initiative known as Covax.
Covax pools funds from wealthier countries to help buy vaccines for themselves and low-income nations.
The scheme has announced a plan to deliver more than 330 million vaccine doses in the first half of 2021.
Canada is the only member of the G7 group of rich countries listed as a Covax beneficiary at this stage.
GOLDSTEIN: Why did Trudeau trust China on vaccines?
One of the outstanding questions regarding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s efforts to secure COVID-19 vaccines for Canadians is why his government put so much faith in a now-cancelled deal to develop them with China?