May 12, 2021

May 12th is the 132nd day of 2021. There are 233 days remaining until the end of the year.

Ontario will no longer offer first doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine due to an increase in reports of rare blood clots.

The AstraZeneca vaccine was being offered to individuals aged 40 and up at numerous pharmacies across the province. The risk of vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) associated with the vaccine in Ontario is one in 60,000. Officials did stress that the AstraZeneca vaccine does provide significant protection from serious illness, hospitalization and death related to COVID-19.

The decision to pause was also based on the increased and reliable supply of these other vaccine options.

As for vaccinations overall, 49% of Ontarians, and almost 40% of Canadians overall, have now been vaccinated with at least one dose, and government officials have said at least 75% need to be vaccinated to get close to herd immunity against COVID-19.

Three new positive COVID-19 cases reported Tuesday by Chatham-Kent Public Health.

There were 4 recoveries, the total number of active cases is 32.

There were 2,073 positive cases reported Tuesday across the province. That’s the smallest daily increase in COVID-19 cases in nearly seven weeks as testing numbers remain low.

Amber lights are coming to Ontario school buses in time for the start of school in 2022. The provincial government passed Bill 246, more commonly known as the Safer School Buses Act.

How it works is bus drivers would flick on the amber lights. Motorists behind and approaching the bus would see the lights. Drivers can still pass the bus while the amber lights are on. It’s a warning that the bus is about to stop and flash its red lights and extend the stop arm. This is when drivers have to stop.

Two amber lights and two red lights would be located on both the back and front of the bus. The Ministry of Transportation has required all school buses purchased in Ontario after Jan. 1, 2005, to be manufactured with eight overhead signal lights. For most bus models, this change would only require a replacement of the lens cap.

Provincial stats say about 30,000 drivers illegally pass a school bus every day during the school year.

Mattel is launching a program that would let you give back your old toys and they will be recycled.

Mattel is the maker of Barbie dolls and MatchBox cars among other toys.

The mission of Mattel PlayBack is to reuse materials from old products to make new ones.

Mattel will first accept Barbie, Matchbox and Mega toys likely with more brands to follow. Consumers won’t have to pay to participate and can simply print out a shipping label via Mattel’s website and send them back.

Mattel says it’s aiming to use 100% recycled, bio-based plastic materials across all of its products and packaging by 2030.

Next week Ford will unveil a fully electric version of the Ford F-150 pickup called the F-150 Lightning.

The F-150 is Canada’s best selling pickup for years.

Ford has released very few details about the truck, which will be unveiled on the evening of May 19th. A short preview video showed the truck’s front lights, which include a long bar of bright lights running between the tops of the headlights.

Tesla has already unveiled their electric pickup, CyberTruck, but this is the first from a major manufacturer.

It’s the truck of our past, and our present. On May 19, it becomes the truck of our future.#F150Lightning #BuiltFordProud pic.twitter.com/I72ZVTc1oQ

— Ford Motor Company (@Ford) May 10, 2021

Categorised in: 5 Things You Need To Know

This post was written by Chris McLeod