Post-vaccine antibody levels reduce the risk of COVID-19, including from Omicron
A study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases by CITF-funded researchers Drs. Brian Grunau, David Goldfarb, and Agatha Jassem (University of British Columbia), and Sheila O’Brien and Steven Drews (both from Canadian Blood Services) shows that higher antibody levels against the original (wild-type) SARS-CoV-2 virus are associated with a significantly reduced risk of subsequent infections with SARS-CoV-2 variants, both preceding and during the Omicron era. The association, however, was weaker during the Omicron wave.
COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against Omicron or Delta symptomatic infection and severe outcomes
A CITF-funded study led by Dr. Jeff Kwong (University of Toronto), published in JAMA Network Open, estimated that two doses of any COVID-19 vaccine were highly effective against a symptomatic Delta infection, but efficacy was lower and protection was more short-lived against a symptomatic Omicron infection.
COVID-19 infection prevention and control directives might be confusing for dental school students
A CITF-funded study, published in the International Dental Journal and led by Dr. Paul Allison (McGill University), reports significant discrepancies in COVID-19-related infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies across Canadian dental schools.
Identifying who participated in a seroprevalence study is a crucial metric
In a study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, the CITF-funded SeroTracker team, including Dr. Rahul Arora (University of Calgary), contributed to showing that only 70% of individuals invited to participate in seroprevalence studies actually enrolled.
SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody titers are well-correlated with anti-spike antibodies
Live viral neutralizing antibody titers are widely accepted as a good measure of immunity, yet conducting the assays are time-consuming and laborious making them suboptimal for population level measurements.
Blood circulating protein differences among individuals with acute COVD-19
In a publication in Clinical Proteomics led by Drs. Brent Richards and Guillaume Butler-Laporte (McGill University), CITF funded researcher Dr. Daniel Kaufmann (Université de Montréal) and Dr. Vincent Mooser (McGill University, former director of the Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19)) determined that severe COVID-19 is associated with significant changes in 69 immune-related proteins.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) does not prevent an antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in older adults
Data presented in a CITF-funded study by Drs. Dawn Bowdish and Andrew Costa (both from McMaster University), along with other members of the COVID-in LTC Investigator Group, showed that people aged 65+ who were seropositive with cytomegalovirus (CMV) did not have a higher incidence of COVID-19.
Infection-acquired seroprevalence increased again in August: Canadian Blood Services
Omicron and its subvariants (BA.4 and BA.5) continued to spread in Canada in August. By the last week of August, 60% of blood donors had infection-acquired seropositivity, up from 56.5% at the end of July.
COVID-19 vaccine coverage in the pregnant population remains low in Ontario
Among individuals who were pregnant in May 2022, nearly 80% had received two or more doses of COVID-19 vaccine before or during pregnancy, which is low compared to the general female population of reproductive age in Ontario (approximately 91%).