NY health provider may have fraudulently obtained COVID-19 vaccine

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams appeared on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday and discussed the skepticism from many African Americans about the COVID-19 vaccine and how the community can be convinced it's safe and effective.

Adams said acknowledging the history of medical racism and what's still happening in the U.S. today is key.

"I've talked about Tuskegee. I've talked about Henrietta Lacks. But there are real issues going on today, right now in this country, when you look at 700 women dying of pregnancy-related complications, most of them black and brown in the United States. When you look at not just hypertension and cancer disparities," Adams said.

The surgeon general said health equity is critical.

"We need to engage with trusted influencers. We need to make sure our pastors, and imams and rabbis, all of whom I'm working with, have the facts so that they can spread it to -- to their congregants," he said. "I want people to know that as a scientist, as a doctor, I've looked at the data. I know the protections that are in place. I know an African-American female helped develop this vaccine and Tony Fauci and I made sure that the trials were enrolled with diverse participants."

Two confirmed cases of the COVID-19 variant observed in the United Kingdom have been identified in Ontario, Canada, the country's Public Health Agency said in a statement on Saturday.

The agency also restated guidance from the World Health Organization that while these new variants may be more transmissible, to date there is no evidence that they cause more severe disease or have any impact on antibody response or vaccine effectiveness.

Norway also reported cases of the variant on Sunday. The cases were identified in two people who traveled to Norway from the U.K. in December, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

European Union nations have officially started vaccinating their citizens.

Shots of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine were given to health care workers and vulnerable adults Sunday morning.

The news comes as countries like Italy and Spain continue to see rising COVID-19 cases.

A health care provider in New York has been accused of misappropriating coronavirus vaccines.

In what amounts to a line-skipping scheme, the New York State Health Department and the State Police are investigating Orange County health care provider Parcare Community Health Network for an alleged maneuver to violate the state's distribution plan.   

State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said Parcare "may have fraudulently obtained COVID-19 vaccine, transferred it to facilities in other parts of the state ... and diverted it to members of the public." 

This would run directly contrary to New York's current plan for "1A" distribution, which prioritizes front-line health care workers, nursing home residents and staff.

"We take this very seriously," Zucker said in a statement. "Anyone found to have knowingly participated in this scheme will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."

ParCare Community Health Network told ABC News in a statement, "During these unprecedented times, we have striven to provide critical healthcare services and administer COVID-19 vaccinations to those qualified to receive them under the New York State Department of Health's guidelines, which includes frontline healthcare workers and first responders. Parcare Community Health Network has a long history of partnering with the City of New York to provide vital healthcare services to New Yorkers who need them most - including providing COVID-19 testing - especially for New Yorkers in medically underserved communities who've been hardest hit by COVID-19. As we actively cooperate with the New York State Department of Health on this matter, we will continue to perform top-quality healthcare services to help New York come out of this pandemic."

In October, New York's Test and Trace Corps announced an expanded partnership with ParCare to provide free COVID-19 testing and resources for the Orthodox Jewish community.

-ABC News' Sasha Pezenik and Aaron Katersky