Publications from our Experts

Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) face profound disturbances to their immune system due to prolonged exposure to immunosuppressive drugs, which make them generally more susceptible to infections such as SARS-CoV-2.

Dr. Jeffrey Kwong from the University of Toronto contributed to a recent publication in the Annals of Epidemiology that illustrates the disproportionate toll COVID-19 has taken among individuals who self-identify as visible minorities and who live in the lowest income areas of Toronto. It revealed that per-capita rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths were 3.3-fold and 2.5-fold higher, respectively, in neighborhoods with the highest [...]

Dr. Danuta Skowronski and colleagues from the BC Centre for Disease Control evaluated the real-world single-dose effectiveness (as opposed to the findings of clinical trials) of the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines. They demonstrated that even a single dose of these vaccines reduced the risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 infection by over 80%. A recent follow-up on this initial report showed that two doses, [...]

A commentary in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) from CITF Leadership Group member Dr. Jim Kellner, a pediatrician from the University of Calgary and Chair of the CITF’s Pediatric Network, and CITF-funded researcher Dr. Stephen B. Freedman, also pediatrician at the University of Calgary, highlight the importance of protecting children from the consequences of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. [...]

While many effective vaccines have been developed to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there remains a critical need for novel ways of treating patients hospitalized with moderate, severe or critical COVID-19. A recent commentary published by CITF-funded researcher Dr. Donald Vinh from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre explores the use of type 1 interferon proteins to allow physicians [...]

As the pandemic progresses, we are learning more about COVID-19 and its effects on pregnancy. A recent study conducted by researchers in Ontario, including CITF-funded researcher Dr. Deshayne Fell from the University of Ottawa and the CHEO Research Institute, sought to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected pregnancy outcomes at a population level. The results were recently published in Acta Obstetricia et [...]

In a recent Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) publication, CITF-funded researchers Drs. Karina Top (Dalhousie University), Manish Sadarangani (University of British Columbia), Jesse Papenburg (McGill University), and led by Drs. Fatima Kakkar and Shaun Morris, described 264 children who were admitted to hospital in Canada with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2020. They also found that severe cases were more likely among children with obesity [...]

Canada and other countries globally have authorized different SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, mostly based on findings from clinical trials which have demonstrated a high degree of efficacy against disease. However, the real-world effectiveness of these vaccines in an evolving pandemic with several variants needs to be better understood. In a recent pre-print (not yet peer-reviewed), the VSRG’s Vaccine Effectiveness Working Group member Dr. Danuta Skowronski, from [...]

A recent pre-print (therefore, not yet peer-reviewed) led by CITF-funded researcher Dr. Stephen Hwang from the University of Toronto and Unity Health, explored the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among people experiencing homelessness in Toronto during the first wave of the pandemic. They observed that the overall prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was higher among populations experiencing homelessness compared to the general population and that the rates varied [...]