Healthcare workers

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.

As part of the COVID-19 Occupational Risks, Seroprevalence and Immunity among Paramedics (CORSIP) study, CIFT-funded researchers Drs. Brian Grunau and David Goldfarb (University of British Columbia) did not find that, during the pre-Omicron waves, paramedics were at higher risk of catching SARS-CoV-2 than a control group of blood donors.

In a paper published in Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, CITF-funded researcher Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh from the Université de Montréal and other members of the REinfection in COVID‐19 Estimation of Risk (RECOVER) project, studied Canadian healthcare workers (HCWs) who had a previously documented SARS-CoV-2 infection to better understand vulnerability to reinfection.

New research stemming from the CITF-funded RECOVER study indicates that a two-dose primary series of vaccination is paramount for protection against COVID-19, even for those who were previously infected.

New findings emerged from the CITF-funded COVID-19 Occupational Risks, Seroprevalence and Immunity among Paramedics (CORSIP) project led by Dr. Brian Grunau based at the University of British Columbia.

In a pre-print that has not yet been peer reviewed, CITF-funded researcher Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh from the Université de Montréal and colleagues conducted a study among Canadian healthcare workers (HCWs) who had a previously documented SARS-CoV-2 infection to better understand vulnerability to reinfection.

In this CITF-funded study led by Dr. Deepali Kumar of the University Health Network, Toronto, researchers followed healthcare workers (HCW) who received the Pfizer Comirnaty vaccine.

Extending the interval between COVID-19 vaccine doses was introduced in Canada to accelerate population coverage with a single dose.