The COVID-19 Immunity Task Force’s mandate
On April 23, 2020, the Government of Canada launched the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF). The Task Force’s mandate is to catalyze, support, fund and harmonize knowledge on SARS-CoV-2 immunity for federal, provincial, and territorial decision-makers in their efforts to protect Canadians and minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
Boosters
Understanding when and if the general population and sub-groups such as long-term care residents, racialized communities or Indigenous Peoples need booster shots.
Pediatric Vaccination
Researching the safety, effectiveness and immunogenicity of vaccines in children under 12 to help inform the roll out of vaccines.
Immunity Modelling
Modelling trends in the overall immunity across Canada arising from infection and vaccination.
CITF Monthly Review
August 2022 issue
In this month’s issue, we’d like to highlight:
- A question and answer feature with CITF-affiliated experts addressing where the pandemic is likely headed this fall, on pages 14-15.
- A CITF data and analysis report on how the Omicron tsunami affected millions of Canadians in a matter of months, found on pages 2-3.
- The latest data from Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec, which show the rates of seroprevalence across all provinces through June 2022, found on pages 4-5.
- How vaccines have been found to protect pregnant people and newborns, a population at particular risk from COVID-19 infection, on pages 12-13.
CITF-funded Research Results
Infection-acquired seroprevalence increased in July: Canadian Blood Services
Due to continued transmission of the newer Omicron variants (BA.4 and BA.5) in Canada, infection-acquired seropositivity increased within the blood donor community, from 50.7% at the end of June to 54% by the end of July, with a modest week-to-week change throughout July.
A case of an Omicron reinfection despite up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination
A recent case report, now published in Frontiers in Immunology, indicates that Omicron reinfections - that is, two distinct infections with the Omicron variant at least 90 days apart - are possible, even in fully vaccinated individuals with an average immune response.
Pre-Omicron effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against hospitalization and death across Canada
Published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, CITF-funded researchers Drs. Jeff Kwong (University of Toronto), Gaston de Serres (L’Institut national de santé publique du Québec), and Mel Krajden (University of British Columbia), found that two doses of mRNA or viral vector ChAdOx1 (AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria or COVIDSHIELD) vaccines provided excellent protection against severe outcomes (hospitalization or death) from COVID-19 during the period before the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Latest News
SeroTracker expands its SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance hub
CITF-funded SeroTracker has added to its knowledge hub that tracks findings from SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance efforts worldwide and in Canada. Peruse the maps and graphs and see how many people in this country (by province & territory as well) and around the world are estimated to have been infected with or vaccinated against 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
