Media Releases and Task Force Announcements

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

Researchers to investigate vaccine uptake, efficacy and side effects in vulnerable urban populations

Urban centres across Canada are home to many vulnerable populations who are more at risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 and developing serious complications from COVID-19. The Government of Canada, through the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) and the Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG), is investing approximately $770,000 in a new study that will investigate the uptake, effectiveness, and side effects of COVID-19 vaccines among members of vulnerable urban populations in Canada.

July 14, 2021|Media Releases|

Canadian researchers to study best approaches to possible adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination

The Government of Canada, through its COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) and Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG), is investing approximately $800,000 for a study that aims to further improve Canada’s identification and response to adverse events people may experience following COVID-19 vaccination across 10 provinces.

July 13, 2021|Media Releases|

Study reveals children and youth had highest rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Canada before third wave

Canada’s most representative study to date investigating how many Canadians have antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, reveals a mere 2.6% of Canadians tested between November 2020 and April 2021 had developed antibodies resulting from a past infection. Another 1% of Canadians had antibodies due to vaccination, reflecting the fact that vaccination was not widely available during the survey period. This brings the total percentage of Canadians with some form of immunity before the third wave to 3.6%. These data come from Statistics Canada’s Canadian COVID-19 Antibody and Health Survey (CCAHS), done in partnership with Canada’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF), the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Health Canada.

Largest international review of serosurveys, done by Canadians, suggests that the global population remains vulnerable to COVID-19

SeroTracker, a Canadian research group, has published the largest study to date on the global spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the journal PLOS One. The study examined antibody survey data, which were published from January to December 2020, from 9.3 million people in 74 countries and found that the number of people who had a SARS-COV-2 infection, although widely variable globally, remained fairly low in the general population.

Early results from a national study confirm antibody levels are stronger after receiving two doses

Initial preliminary results from the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath) COVID-19 Antibody Study, based on close to 6,000 dried blood spot samples collected between February 8 and May 17, 2021, show a high degree of variability in the level of antibodies produced by a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. These findings highlight the importance of accelerating second doses as the Delta variant continues to spread, particularly with the vast majority of Canadians having received only a single vaccine dose.

June 23, 2021|Immune science, Media Releases|

Extensive Study in Canada to Assess COVID-19 Vaccine Immune Responses and Effectiveness among People Living With HIV

People living with HIV are less likely to mount an adequate immune response, which may put them at higher risk for both serious COVID-19 illness and reduced response to COVID-19 vaccination. The Government of Canada, through its COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) and Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG), is investing approximately $1.75 million in a study that will assess the immune responses, safety, and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination for this vulnerable population that has been understudied with respect to COVID-19.

June 16, 2021|Media Releases|

New study to monitor COVID-19 illness and vaccine safety, effectiveness in children and youth in Canada

The CITF and VSRG are supporting a new pan-Canadian study that will monitor the effects of illness from COVID-19, as well as the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in children and youth. The study will be conducted through Canada’s IMPACT (Immunization Monitoring Program ACTive) network, which has been continuously monitoring multiple pediatric vaccines for more than 30 years.

June 11, 2021|Media Releases|

Recent blood donor data suggest that Canadians still remain vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Blood donation organizations to provide important assessment of how long immunity lasts   NEWS RELEASE   MONTREAL, May 27, 2021 — Results from the latest Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec studies, which together cover all 10 provinces, confirm that from coast-to-coast, Canada’s overall levels of seroprevalence due to SARS-CoV-2 infection remained very low earlier this [...]

New Canada-Wide Research to Study Mixing-and-Matching COVID-19 vaccines

The Government of Canada, through the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) and the Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG), is supporting a new nation-wide study that will look at the effects of ‘mixing-and-matching’ approved COVID-19 vaccines in adults. Approximately $4.8 million is being provided for this study, which will assess the safety and effectiveness of using two different COVID-19 vaccines for the first and second dose. The project will also study the effects of increasing the interval between doses.

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