The power of IgM in the immune response against SARS-CoV-2
Dr. Andrés Finzi, from the Université de Montréal, Dr. Renée Bazin from Héma-Québec, along with collaborators from Western University, are highlighting the importance of antibodies made early on in the infection in SARS-CoV-2 neutralization.
Vaccination should be mandatory for health care workers: article
Provincial and territorial governments in Canada should instate mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for health care workers, according to an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by Dr. Kumanan Wilson and colleagues from the University of Ottawa.
Following Canada’s COVID-19 first wave, less than 1% of blood donors had antibodies against the virus
Results from CBS’s initial survey, conducted between May 9th and July 21st, 2020 showed that 552 of the 74,642 donors tested had detectable antibodies, which gave an adjusted seroprevalence of 7.7 per 1000 donors.
Researchers find cellular immune response to SARS-CoV-2 lasts at least eight months, even after antibodies levels decreased
Researchers from Université de Montréal, Dr Daniel Kaufmann and Dr Andres Finzi, in collaboration with researchers from New York University, are confirming the presence of a long-lasting immune response to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, in a pre-print publication.
COVID Symptoms, Seroprevalence, and Mortality During the First Wave of SARS-CoV-2 in Canada
A large group of researchers found seroprevalence across Canada was low in the first wave of the pandemic but found 31% of those who tested positive for antibodies had never had symptoms. They also found the death rate in nursing homes was over 70 times greater than among elderly adults living outside of nursing homes.
Latest findings reveal few Canadian adults have antibodies to SARS-Cov-2
Canadian Blood Services and the CITF’s collaborative nine-province SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study for October thru November suggests that 1.5 per cent of healthy Canadians had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2. The highest levels were recorded in Western Canada but mass national vaccination remains only route to achieving herd immunity.
SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence survey estimates are affected by anti-nucleocapsid antibody decline
Researchers from Public Health Ontario and the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health found that there was a drop in the number of samples with detectable antibodies over time using the Abbott Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay.
Systematic examination of antigen-specific recall T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 versus influenza virus reveals a distinct inflammatory profile
Researchers at the University of Toronto, published in the Journal of Immunology, shed light on what is happening in the body may help to explain why patients with SARS-CoV-2 have more severe inflammation and lung tissue damage than patients suffering from regular seasonal influenza virus.
Study finds few youths on the West Island and in the Plateau have had diagnosed cases of COVID-19, but mental health is an issue
Preliminary results from a study underway in Montreal suggest 41% of 1,000 children surveyed so far, largely based on participants from the West Island and the Plateau, have gone to get tested to see if they were infected at the time with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Of those, 99% tested negative. In this surveyed group, children from 10 households also had family members test positive for SARS-CoV-2, yet only one child from these households tested positive.