The Biobanque Québécoise de la Covid-19 Receives Funding from the Covid-19 Immunity Task Force To Conduct A Project On Hybrid Immunity
The Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded $1.175 million from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) through the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) for a project to study hybrid immunity.
Largest study measuring extent of COVID-19 in Canadian children and teens now underway
In Canada, the vast majority of COVID-19 cases in the 0 to 18 age group have been mild or asymptomatic. This fact, combined with the reduction in routine COVID-19 laboratory testing across most of the country, means that the infection rates in children and adolescents are largely unknown.
NWT Chief Public Health Officer to expand ways to detect COVID-19 in population
The GNWT plans to test blood samples from NWT residents to look for antibodies that developed from natural infection and immunization to the virus that causes COVID-19.
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.
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.
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.
Omicron triples Canada’s COVID-19 infection count, study shows
Nearly 30 per cent of Canadian adults – 9 million people – were infected during the Omicron variant wave early in 2022, compared with just 10 per cent who had been infected in the previous four waves, according to a new study led by Toronto researchers.
One in four people contracted COVID-19 between December 2021 and March 2022
MONTREAL, May 9, 2022 - A new seroprevalence study of blood donors, conducted by Héma-Québec, estimates that more than one in four Quebec adults developed antibodies to COVID-19 due to infection between the start of the year and mid-March.
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).
Lower vaccination rates among people who use drugs could lead to serious outcomes from COVID-19
Vancouver, April 6, 2022 - As many jurisdictions in Canada begin to ease public health measures intended to limit serious cases and fatalities caused by COVID-19, new research from the BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) and the University of British Columbia (UBC) suggests many people remain at risk of serious disease. The Government of [...]
Government of Canada launches second cycle of national survey to assess the health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
Ottawa, Ontario | Public Health Agency of Canada Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is continually guided by the latest science, evidence and research. To that end, the Government of Canada is actively working with a community of national and international experts to gather evidence on the health impacts of the pandemic, as well as [...]
New study investigates immune response and vaccine hesitancy among First Nations communities
The COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) and the Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG) are supporting a new study that will work with three First Nations communities to investigate vaccine hesitancy, the immune response to the COVID-19 vaccine and health outcomes after vaccination within those communities. As of November 9, 2021, according to Indigenous Services Canada [...]