The COVID-19 Immunity Task Force’s mandate
On April 23, 2020, the Government of Canada launched the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF). We are charged with leading a Canada-wide effort to help determine the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Canada (in the general population as well as in specific communities and priority populations), understand the nature of immunity following infection, and develop improved antibody testing methods. In December 2020, the Task Force was assigned an additional role in vaccine surveillance and, in addition, the Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group was formed.
The Task Force’s mandate supports the implementation of relevant research projects, aligning studies across Canada, and seeking to provide useful information to federal, provincial, and territorial decision-makers as they oversee responses to the COVID-19 pandemic to best protect Canadians.
Priority Areas of Research
Immune Science
Advancing our understanding of immunity: Is immunity a given once someone has had COVID-19? How long does it last? Are there factors that make immunity wane faster?
Seroprevalence Studies
Collecting serologic data: How many Canadians have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, suggesting they’ve had COVID-19? Are some populations more likely to get SARS-CoV-2 and how could we better protect them?
Immune Testing
Fine-tuning methods for accurate serologic testing: Which tests can detect the new variants? Are there antibody tests that can be developed giving us results in minutes?
Vaccine Surveillance
Supporting research partners from across Canada in a new collaboration that will study vaccine effectiveness and safety in the population at large and in high-priority groups.
Research Spotlight
Study reveals children and youth had highest rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Canada before third wave
Results are in from Statistics Canada’s Canadian COVID-19 Antibody and Health Survey (CCAHS), Canada’s most representative study to date investigating how many Canadians have antibodies to SARS-CoV-2.
CITF-funded Research Results
Tracking health events after vaccination: latest results from CANVAS-COVID
Are you among the over 1 million Canadians asked to complete a survey after receiving the first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine? The CANVAS-COVID study, funded by the CITF/VSRG, has been collecting self-reported information on health events following vaccination. The most common health event following vaccination, experienced by [...]
Equity and design are key to successful vaccine passport programs in Canada
Commonly called vaccine passports, immunization records or documents indicating vaccination status will be important as certain parts of the world begin to reopen. Many Canadians see vaccine passports or vaccine certificates as a necessary step to re-enter public spaces and events; others are concerned that the need to disclose vaccine [...]
Low prevalence of COVID-19 among Canadian dentists during the first wave
Dental care professionals are at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure due to close contact with potentially infected patients and use of aerosol-generating procedures. A team of CIHR and CITF-funded scientists led by McGill University researcher Dr. Sreenath Madathil recently presented their results in two posters at the 99th General Session [...]
Latest News
SeroTracker: the SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance knowledge hub
SeroTracker is a knowledge hub we support that tracks findings from SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance efforts worldwide. Peruse the map and see how many people worldwide are estimated to have been infected with this coronavirus to date (based on published research).
Explore SeroTracker
What is serosurveillance and why is it important?
Serosurveillance is a common way of seeing how many people have been previously infected with a certain infectious agent, in this case SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. Blood samples from hundreds of thousands of Canadians are currently being tested to check levels of antibodies, which suggest a past infection. Serosurveillance can also help determine priority groups for vaccination and will be used to monitor the effectiveness of vaccines.
What does “vaccine surveillance” mean?
Vaccine surveillance includes studies of vaccine effectiveness (how good vaccines are at preventing severe disease, new infections, and transmission) and safety (identifying and quantifying the vaccine adverse effects). Although vaccines go through numerous trials before being approved for use, it is crucial to monitor their effectiveness and safety within a broader population and with various population groups (children, pregnant women, elderly, etc.).
See all FAQs
What is serosurveillance and why is it important?
Serosurveillance is a common way of seeing how many people have been previously infected with a certain infectious agent, in this case SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. Blood samples from hundreds of thousands of Canadians are currently being tested to check levels of antibodies, which suggest a past infection. Serosurveillance can also help determine priority groups for vaccination and will be used to monitor the effectiveness of vaccines.
What does “vaccine surveillance” mean?
Vaccine surveillance includes studies of vaccine effectiveness (how good vaccines are at preventing severe disease, new infections, and transmission) and safety (identifying and quantifying the vaccine adverse effects). Although vaccines go through numerous trials before being approved for use, it is crucial to monitor their effectiveness and safety within a broader population and with various population groups (children, pregnant women, elderly, etc.).
See all FAQs
Sign up for one of our newsletters!
Seeking information on vaccine procurement and advice?
For those seeking information on vaccine procurement and advice, please note that it is the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force that advises the federal government on COVID-19 vaccine procurement and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization that advises the federal, provincial and territorial governments on vaccine delivery policy and priorities.