Media Releases and Task Force Announcements

Media Releases and Task Force Announcements2021-11-02T18:12:39-04:00

More than 75% of Canadians had immunity to SARS-CoV-2 due to infection by March 2023

MONTREAL, Monday, August 14, 2023 – By March 2023, after 16 months dominated by the Omicron variant, three quarters of people in Canada had immunity due to infection against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Today, the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) published the most comprehensive peer-reviewed analysis of pan-Canadian seroprevalence estimates across Canada in [...]

August 14, 2023|Media Releases|

New survey data reveals that between April and August 2022, 98% of Canadian adults had antibodies to SARS-CoV-2

Today, Statistics Canada is releasing results from the second cycle of the Canadian COVID-19 Antibody and Health Survey (CCAHS). This survey provides a nationally representative measure of the population with antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Between April and August 2022, 54% of Canadian adults – or about 16.4 million Canadians – had antibodies indicating a past infection to SARS-CoV-2.

March 27, 2023|Media Releases|

Studying the immune response of immunocompromised children: CITF awards $800,000 for new vaccination research

As the pandemic continues in Canada and around the world, certain groups of people remain more vulnerable to the disease, including immunocompromised children. While vaccination remains a safe and effective option to protect this population, the number of doses needed for optimal protection has yet to be determined.

July 26, 2022|Media Releases|

The Omicron tsunami: Analysis of data from blood testing suggests over 17 million Canadians were infected with Omicron in only 5 months

An analysis of data from 21 studies, funded by the Government of Canada through its COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) and that relied on blood testing, provides a clearer picture of the massive scale of the Omicron wave in Canada. Before the arrival of the Omicron variant, approximately 7% of Canadians had infection-acquired antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Between December 2021 and May 2022, the proportion rose by 45% of Canadians having antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

July 6, 2022|Media Releases|

South Asian Communities in GTA disproportionately hit by COVID-19

A COVID CommUNITY – South Asian study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) Open has found that South Asian communities living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) suffered disproportionately from COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic. The Government of Canada, through its COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF), invested approximately $1.5 million in this study to understand vaccine confidence and hesitancy in this population that has been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

July 5, 2022|Media Releases|

COVID-19 vaccination highly effective in individuals with immune-related inflammatory diseases

Montreal, May 3, 2022 – New findings, published in The Lancet Rheumatology, suggest that people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) respond well to vaccination and that the COVID-19 vaccines in Canada are highly effective in protecting them against hospitalization from COVID-19. The results of this study are highly pertinent for people living with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis (a type of arthritis that characteristically affects the spine), psoriasis (a skin condition), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) – the four patient populations included in the study, supported by the Government of Canada, through its COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF).

May 3, 2022|Media Releases|
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