Most CanPath study participants had infection-acquired antibodies but few suspected COVID-19
Of the 62% of participants in a CanPath study who had infection-acquired antibodies, 86% had never suspected they had previously had COVID-19. These results from the CanPath SUPPORT-Canada study “Real-world insights on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and risk factors for COVID-19 infection” were made public during a hybrid event on May 30th.
STOPCoV participants reported high satisfaction with digital research platform
The digital research platform used by a CITF-funded study, Safety and Efficacy of Preventative COVID Vaccines (STOPCoV), was easy to use and popular, including among those aged 70+. Although only 33% of participants (ranging in age from 30 to above 70 years) had previously participated in clinical research, 95% were very satisfied with their participation and 90% indicated that they would participate in research again.
SARS-CoV-2 monovalent mRNA vaccines are safe for those with inflammatory bowel disease
A CITF-funded study, published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, found that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are safe for those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Injection site reactions were the most common adverse event, most common after earlier doses, but when following a 4th dose, they were significantly associated with increased antibody levels.
HostSeq: A Canadian consortium collecting genetic data to identify risk factors for COVID-19 disease and health outcomes
The HostSeq platform, established in April 2020, is a national collaboration of population-based studies investigating genetic risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 disease and the health outcomes associated COVID-19.
Antibodies produced in recovered individuals who received the COVID-19 vaccine showed a high degree of similarity in their amino acid sequences
A CITF-funded study, published in Clinical Immunology, found that individuals who were recovering from a SARS-CoV-2 infection and who were then vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had high levels of SARS-CoV-2 neutralization.
Incidental SARS-CoV-2 infections found in patients admitted to hospital increased during the Omicron wave
A CITF-funded study, published in Scientific Reports, found that the proportion of incidental SARS-CoV-2 infections increased substantially across the pandemic waves. In particular, the percentage of people who tested positive for COVID-19 upon admission to hospital for something else rose from 10% to 41% during the Omicron wave.
Almost 90% of the youngest blood donors (aged 17-24) had antibodies due to infection by mid-March
Despite all donors having vaccine-induced antibodies, the latest CITF-funded seroprevalence report from Canadian Blood Services showed seroprevalence due to infection was 78.3% by mid-March, consistent with the continued presence of circulating Omicron subvariants.
A novel method for detecting SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence
In a study now published in Infectious Diseases, CITF-funded researchers from Héma-Québec reported on the development of a novel analytical approach to detect recent SARS-CoV-2 infections based on anti-nucleocapsid antibodies.
Cohort profiling of Canadian healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
A CITF-funded study, published in preprint and not yet peer-reviewed, reported on the establishment of a longitudinal cohort of health care workers (HCWs) employed in hospitals, residential institutions, and the community. Researchers used the cohort to examine factors in the workplace that might serve to mitigate risk of either SARS-CoV-2 infection or mental distress related to work demands, availability of personal protective equipment, vaccination, and infection during the pandemic.