Vaccine hunting? These volunteers want to help; Rogers blames update for outage: CBC's Marketplace Cheat Sheet - CBC.ca

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Looking to book a vaccine appointment? These volunteers say they can help

If you're having trouble navigating the sometimes confusing patchwork of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility, a group of web-savvy volunteers might be able to point you in the right direction. 

Vaccine Hunters Canada uses social media to help thousands of Canadians book vaccine appointments.

"A lot of people find the comprehensiveness of the vaccine rollout actually an overload of information," Toronto's Sabrina Craig, one of the group's co-founders, told As It Happens host Carol Off.

"Some people find it difficult to navigate, particularly … if English isn't your [first] language. Or if you have a grasp of the English language, maybe you're not super-familiar with navigating the internet. So that's where we come in." Read more

Vaccine Hunters Canada co-founder Joshua Kalpin said the lowering of the age of eligibility for the AstraZeneca vaccine in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba has kept the group busy. (The National/CBC)

Did you lose Rogers cell service this week? You're not alone

Wireless service was offline for most of Monday for thousands of Rogers customers, along with the company's Fido and Chatr brands.

The next day, Rogers extended an olive branch to affected customers, offering "a credit equivalent to yesterday's wireless service fee," or whatever one day of service would cost on their monthly plan — roughly $2 on a $60 monthly plan, for example.

The company blamed the outage on a software update from Ericsson, one of its network equipment providers.

"We offer our sincere apologies and will work hard to earn back your trust," Rogers said. Read more

WATCH | Rogers network hit by widespread outages:

Rogers’s wireless and data networks were hit by widespread outages for most of Monday, not only impacting people working from home but critical health-care communication and some 911 services. 1:16

Woman with dementia locked into 10-year home-heating contract — with a $15K lien on her property

Mercedes Chacin de Fuchs, 82, already had dementia when a door-to-door salesperson convinced her to sign a contract for a furnace and air conditioner she didn't need in 2017, says her son Matt Fuchs.

"They came in and convinced somebody that has cognitive issues that they needed something they didn't need," he told Go Public.

Fuchs says he only learned of the deal when he tried to get a line of credit to pay for a home-care worker for his mother and was denied because of a lien on her property.

Tens of thousands of Canadians are locked into similar deals, says paralegal John Robinson, who fights such contracts in court, including that of Fuchs and his mom. Read more

WATCH | Man sues after mom with dementia locked into 10-year home-heating contract:

A son has filed a lawsuit after he says his mother, who has dementia, was locked into a 10-year home heating contract despite her cognitive issues and resulted in a company placing a lien on her home. 2:03

What else is going on?

U.S. airline JetBlue expands into Canada for the 1st time
Airline heading to Vancouver in 2022, says it wants to shake up a market "dominated by high-fare carriers."

Canada's annual inflation jumped in March due to plunge in prices last year
StatsCan says the consumer price index was up 2.2 per cent last month compared with a year ago.

Trudeau pledges to slash greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030
Canada will "blow past" its previous target of a 30 per cent reduction from 2005 levels by 2030, PM says.

U.S. safety regulator issues warning about Peloton's Tread+ treadmill
The warning follows reports of Tread+ incidents in which one child died and others were injured.

These Clipper multi-purpose lighters are a potential burn hazard
Immediately stop using the lighters and return to the place of purchase for a refund.

This floor lamp is being recalled due to a fire hazard
Consumers should immediately unplug the recalled lamp. Those who purchased the lamp from Urban Barn should contact Urban Barn Customer Care for a refund. Those who purchased from other retailers should contact Zuo Modern Canada. Proof of purchase may be required.

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Vaccine hunting? These volunteers want to help; Rogers blames update for outage: CBC's Marketplace Cheat Sheet - CBC.ca
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