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Alberta

Pfizer vaccine arriving in Alberta

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From the Province of Alberta

More than 25,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine en route to Alberta

Alberta will soon receive 25,350 doses of Pfizer vaccine and will start immunizing priority health-care workers provincewide.

During the week of Dec. 21, Alberta will receive shipments of vaccines from Pfizer at dedicated vaccine sites across the province.

Right now, the Pfizer vaccine must be administered at its delivery site, so these doses will be provided to respiratory therapists, intensive care unit physicians and staff, and eligible long-term care and designated supportive living workers across the province.

These are in addition to the 3,900 doses that are expected to arrive this week and will begin to be administered in Calgary and Edmonton within days of delivery. The ultra-cold freezers needed for the Pfizer vaccines are now installed at eight locations across Alberta and AHS staff are being trained to ensure quality and safety are maintained.

“This welcome news brings much-needed hope to Albertans, particularly health care workers, during this incredibly trying time in the pandemic. These staff are exhausted, and I hope seeing more vaccinations are on the way will show them there’s an end in sight. Albertans can be confident this vaccine is safe and will be administered quickly and efficiently.”

Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health

“Alberta Health Services, Alberta Health and the COVID-19 task force have been hard at work preparing for the vaccine doses arriving this week and next. We have the plans in place to get the vaccines to where they need to go: into the arms of Albertans.”

Paul Wynnyk, chair, COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force

“I am very pleased to hear that we will be able to immunize more of our front-line health-care workers and vulnerable Albertans before the end of the year. But this is not the end. We must continue to follow health measures to bend the curve, and until enough of us are immunized, we must continue to be each others’ vaccine.”

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health

Pending final approval from Health Canada, the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is expected to arrive in Alberta later in December. The Moderna vaccines can be transported to other locations, so the initial shipment will be used to immunize residents at long-term care locations beginning with those at highest risk, including two First Nations seniors facilities.

As more shipments arrive in early January, immunization will focus on Phase 1 priority populations and will include residents of long-term care and designated supportive living facilities, followed by seniors aged 75 and over and First Nations on reserve, Inuit and on-settlement Metis individuals aged 65 and over.

Phase 2 is still expected to start by April 2021 and will be targeted to the next groups of prioritized populations. Final decisions regarding eligibility in Phase 2 have not yet been determined.

Phase 3 will involve rolling out vaccinations to the general Alberta population, and is anticipated to start later in 2021.

Quick facts

  • Alberta has worked closely with the federal government and other provinces and territories to acquire COVID-19 vaccines since the pandemic began.
  • Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses.
  • The Pfizer vaccine was approved on Dec. 9.
  • The Moderna vaccine has not been approved by Health Canada.

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Addictions

B.C. parent launches class-action lawsuit against makers of Fortnite video game

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A child plays the video game “Fortnite” in Chicago, Saturday, Oct.6, 2018. A Vancouver parent has launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against the makers of Fortnite, saying the popular video game is designed to be “as addictive as possible” for children. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Martha Irvine

By Chuck Chiang in Vancouver

A Vancouver parent has launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against the makers of Fortnite, saying the popular video game is designed to be “as addictive as possible” for children.

In the lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Friday, the plaintiff identified only as A.B. says her son downloaded Fortnite in 2018 and “developed an adverse dependence on the game.”

The statement of claim says the game incorporates a number of intentional design choices such as offering rewards for completing challenges and making frequent updates, which encourages players to return repeatedly.

Fortnite creator Epic Games says in a written response released Monday that it will fight the “inflammatory allegations.”

The plaintiff statement says Epic Games enriches itself by making content and customization options purchasable via an in-game currency, which are purchased with real cash.

The class-action lawsuit would still need approval from a judge and none of the allegations have been proven in court.

The plaintiff is seeking damages alleging the game breaches the B.C. Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, as well as for “unjust enrichment” and medical expenses for psychological or physical injuries, among other claims.

“Video games have been around for decades, but Fortnite is unique in that the science and psychology of addiction and cognitive development are at the core of the game’s design,” the court statement says.

It describes the game as “predatory and exploitative,” given its popularity among minors.

Epic Games says the company has had “cabined accounts” in place since 2022, which allow for parents to track their children’s playtime and limit purchases.

Other measures such as a daily spending limit for players under 13 and instant purchase cancellations are also in place, the company says.

“These claims do not reflect how Fortnite operates and ignore all the ways parents can control their child’s experience through Epic’s parental controls,” the statement says.

In the lawsuit, A.B. says her son began playing Fortnite: Battle Royale on a Sony PlayStation 4 game console when he was nine years old. The boy, she said, soon began buying various Fortnite products while adding the game to different platforms at home, including on a mobile phone and a computer.

Since that time, A.B. says Epic Games “received payment for numerous charges” made to her credit card without her authorization. The statement says A.B.’s son spent “thousands of dollars” on in-game purchases.

“If Epic Games had warned A.B. that playing Fortnite could lead to psychological harm and financial expense, A.B. would not have allowed (her son) to download Fortnite,” the statement says.

The lawsuit, if approved by the court, would cover three classes of plaintiffs: an “Addiction Class” of people who suffered after developing a dependence on Fortnite, a “Minor Purchaser Class” that includes gamers who made purchases in the game while under the age of majority, and an “Accidental Purchaser Class” of users who mistakenly bought items due to the game’s design.

The lawsuit would cover all persons affected by Fortnite in Canada except Quebec, where Epic lost its attempt last month to appeal a court decision there to authorize a similar class-action suit.

In the Quebec class-action appeal attempt, Epic lawyers argued the claims that children were becoming addicted to Fortnite were “based purely on speculation,” and no scientific consensus exists on cyberaddiction.

Epic Games also said in the Quebec case that it was not given a chance to argue against the claim that minors who bought Fortnite’s in-game currency were taken advantage of.

Quebec Appeal Court Justice Guy Cournoyer said in his decision that Epic did not demonstrate any significant error on the lower court judge’s decision to authorize the class-action lawsuit in that case.

Epic said in documents made public in a separate legal battle with Apple in the United States that Fortnite made more than US$9 billion combined in 2018 and 2019.

The legal claim in Quebec against the video game maker still needs to be argued in court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2023.

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Alberta

Alberta program trains rural health-care workers in supporting sex assault victims

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Edmonton (CP) – The Alberta government says $1 million in funding is to be used to train rural health-care providers to better support victims of sexual assault.

The money, announced in October, helped Grande Prairie’s Northwestern Polytechnic develop an online course for specialized training.

The course, called Rural Sexual Assault Care-Expanded, teaches how to provide comprehensive, trauma-informed care to survivors of recent sex assaults.

It focuses on assessment, forensic evidence collection and court testimony.

The government says too often sex assault survivors in rural Alberta must drive long distances to access essential care and services.

The funding is to cover the cost of the online course for registered nurses, nurse practitioners, registered midwives and doctors in rural Alberta.

“We want to ensure that as many health-care providers as possible have access to training to best support survivors of sexual assault when they are most vulnerable, and no matter where they live in the province,” Tanya Fir, Alberta’s parliamentary secretary for the status of women, said in a news release Monday.

“Alberta’s government is committed to supporting all survivors and ensuring the resources and support they deserve are available to them.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2023.

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