Seroprevalence increases again in June but stabilizes throughout month: Canadian Blood Services
With the continued transmission of the Omicron variant in Canada, infection-acquired seroprevalence increased again within the blood donor community, from 46.3% at the end of May to 50.7% by the end of June.
Young adults remain the primary vector of SARS-CoV-2 transmission: Latest data from Héma-Québec
The latest serosurvey conducted by Héma-Québec estimates that 45.3% of adults in Quebec developed infection-acquired antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 between December 2021 and June 2022, up from 27.3% in mid-March 2022.
New vaccines, including a trivalent vaccine, trigger strong immune responses against all SARS-CoV-2 variants in animal models
In a preprint, not yet peer-reviewed, a CITF-funded study led by Dr. Ryan Troyer (Western University) developed four spike-based vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and measured antibody and cellular responses.
Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay proves nearly 90% effective in detecting COVID-19 infection
A CITF-funded study, led by Drs. Brian Grunau and David Goldfarb and Pascal Lavoie (University of British Columbia), and Sheila O’Brien and Steven Drews of Canadian Blood Services, and published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases, tested the sensitivity of the Roche anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid assay.
SARS-CoV-2 transmission more frequent in households than in schools
A CITF-funded study now published in Microbiology Spectrum estimated rates of symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among K-12 students and staff in British Columbia from April to June 2021.
Evidence suggests SARS-CoV-2 transmissions in school less than in community at large
A preprint, not yet peer-reviewed, from a CITF-funded study, suggests that the chances of adults getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 was lower in the school setting than it was in the community, even during the first Omicron wave.
Findings show clear advantages of Moderna vaccine for long-term care residents
A CITF-funded study in preprint, not yet peer-reviewed, led by Drs. Dawn Bowdish and Andrew Costa from McMaster University, showed that among residents of long-term care facilities, there was a lower risk of an Omicron infection when the person had:
- Received three doses of Moderna or a combination including Moderna (vs. three doses of Pfizer);
- Any fourth mRNA vaccine dose; and
- Hybrid immunity induced by 3 vaccine doses and a SARS-CoV-2 infection in the 3 months prior to the beginning of the Omicron wave.
Unvaccinated paramedics at greater risk of COVID-19 infection
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.
Nearly half of blood donors showed infection-acquired seropositivity due to Omicron by end of May: Canadian Blood Services
Consistent with the ongoing transmission of the Omicron variant, infection-acquired seropositivity increased in the blood donor community gradually throughout May, from 36.71% at the end of April to 48.96% at the end of May, according to data from Canadian Blood Services.