Healthcare workers

A CITF-funded study, published in preprint and not yet peer-reviewed, reported on the establishment of a longitudinal cohort of health care workers (HCWs) employed in hospitals, residential institutions, and the community. Researchers used the cohort to examine factors in the workplace that might serve to mitigate risk of either SARS-CoV-2 infection or mental distress related to work demands, availability of personal protective equipment, vaccination, and infection during the pandemic.

A CITF-funded study published in Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology suggests that despite a high risk of exposure because of their face-to-face teaching requirements, very few students in healthcare programs caught SARS-CoV-2 during the first three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A CITF-funded study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine looked at the risk of infection among healthcare workers (HCW). It found that unvaccinated HCW who came into direct contact with patients with COVID-19 on a ward designated for care of infected patients, or who handled objects used by infected patients were at elevated risk.

A CITF-funded study published in BMC Health Services Research, showed that Canadian dental hygienists identified conflicting messaging from regulators and guideline interpretations as stressors impacting their professional practice and satisfaction in December 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Omicron wave caused a much higher number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in healthcare personnel than previous waves of pandemic activity. Group activities and those working in close proximity with other people also experienced increased the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

A CITF-funded study published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance found that compared with other healthcare workers, COVID-19 cases among facility-staff in long term care homes, retirement homes and shelters more closely mirrored neighbourhood-level heterogeneity and social and structural disparities.

A study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases by CITF-funded researchers Drs. Brian Grunau, David Goldfarb, and Agatha Jassem (University of British Columbia), and Sheila O’Brien and Steven Drews (both from Canadian Blood Services) shows that higher antibody levels against the original (wild-type) SARS-CoV-2 virus are associated with a significantly reduced risk of subsequent infections with SARS-CoV-2 variants, both preceding and during the Omicron era. The association, however, was weaker during the Omicron wave.

A CITF-funded study, published in the International Dental Journal and led by Dr. Paul Allison (McGill University), reports significant discrepancies in COVID-19-related infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies across Canadian dental schools.

A CITF-funded study in preprint, currently under peer review, led by Dr. Anne Ellis (Queen’s University), suggests that despite a high risk of exposure because of their age and the fact that they were studying in healthcare settings, a very low number of healthcare students in Kingston, Ontario tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during the first three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, even when counting those with no symptoms.

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.