Vaccine passports are meant to protect the unvaccinated population
A CITF-funded study, published by the C.D. Howe Institute, underscored that vaccine passports are aimed at protecting unvaccinated people or people who cannot be vaccinated from the risk of serious illness from COVID-19.
Despite loneliness, gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men were less likely to engage in sexual risk-taking in the first year of COVID-19
A CITF-funded study, published in Social and Personality Psychology Compass, found that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) likely adapted their sexual activity in line with COVID-19 concerns/public health guidelines.
Using social media as a source of COVID-19 vaccine information associated with lower rates of vaccine uptake in people who use drugs
A CITF-funded study, published in Scientific Reports, found that only 48% of people who use drugs (PWUD) had received at least two SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses at baseline in September 2021, much lower than in the general population (70%) in British Columbia at that time.
Seroprevalence remained high in Montreal children and adolescents in June 2023
The latest results from the CITF-funded EnCORE study, led by Dr. Kate Zinszer (Université de Montréal), looking at seroprevalence among children and adolescents in Montreal found that 79.4% of young children and teens had infection-acquired antibodies between February and June 2023.
Perceived risk of getting COVID-19 is associated with poorer mental health outcomes in British Columbia school staff
A CITF-funded study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, found that school staff who felt they were at higher risk of getting COVID-19 reported higher anxiety symptoms. Female school staff who perceived they had a higher risk of getting COVID-19 experienced higher levels of psychological distress and had lower levels of optimism.
Original COVID-19 mRNA vaccines sustain stronger immune responses against wildtype than Omicron strains, despite Omicron breakthrough infection
A CITF-funded study, published in Vaccines, showed that vaccination with an original COVID-19 mRNA vaccine induces a stronger circulating IgA immune response to the wildtype SARS-CoV-2 strain than to the Omicron strains.
COVID-19 vaccination is effective and not harmful during pregnancy according to a large Canadian study
A CITF-funded study, published in Vaccine, provides further reassurance that COVID-19 vaccination is effective and not harmful during pregnancy. Researchers reported that people – whether pregnant or not - had similar side effects from COVID-19 vaccines.
CITF-funded findings from studies of diverse populations
Many CITF-funded studies focus on Canadian populations as diverse as people experiencing homelessness, incarcerated individuals, people admitted to emergency units, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities.
CITF-funded findings on Post-COVID Conditions
It is now estimated that nearly 1 in 10 people who have a SARS-CoV-2 infection (hospitalized and non-hospitalized individuals) may develop Long COVID, which amounts to a global burden of over 16 million people.