The impact of COVID-19 vaccines for patients with chronic kidney disease
Drs. Matthew Oliver (University of Toronto) and Peter Blake (Western University) published an editorial in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology assessing the clinical impact of COVID-19 vaccines on protecting people living with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Estimating pre-pandemic rates of certain medical conditions to help inform current COVID-19 vaccine safety surveillance
A study now published in Vaccine and led by CITF-funded researcher Dr. Jeff Kwong from IC/ES, tracked the incidence of nine different medical conditions in the five years preceding the pandemic (2015-2019) and in the first year of the pandemic (2020).
Nearly 40% of Canadian adults have had an Omicron infection: Canadian Blood Services
Consistent with the ongoing transmission of the Omicron variant, infection-acquired seropositivity increased among blood donor throughout April, from 33% at the beginning of the month to 40% by the end.
Cytomegalovirus infection does not hinder immune response to COVID-19 vaccines in older adults
A preprint, not yet peer-reviewed, affirms that infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV), which has been shown to influence immune competence in older adults, does not alter antibody and memory T cell responses to COVID-19 vaccination in older adults living in assisted-living facilities.
Third doses lead to high antibody responses among people living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
Over 99% of a subset of individuals living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) mounted an antibody response against the spike protein after their third vaccine dose, found a letter published in Gut, under the leadership of Dr. Gil Kaplan (University of Calgary) and co-authored by Dr. Sasha Bernatsky (Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre), who are funded by CITF.
EnCORE Study releases third round of results on SARS-CoV-2 infection in children in Montreal
The latest, preliminary, non-peer reviewed results from the EnCORE study (Round Three) show an increasing number of Montreal youth, aged 2 to 17, acquired antibodies due to a SARS-CoV-2 infection between October 2020 and December 2021.
A case of Omicron reinfection
A new case report, published in pre-print and therefore not yet peer-reviewed, indicates that Omicron reinfection - that is, two infections with distinct Omicron variants one after the other - is possible, even in vaccinated individuals.
Over half of Canadian blood donors aged 17 to 24 were infected with SARS-CoV-2 by mid-April
Blood donors between 17 and 24 years old have persistently experienced the highest seropositivity rate from infection. Mid-April data from the Canadian Blood Services show that a majority (52%) in this age group had evidence of infection-acquired antibodies (antibodies targeting the nucleocapsid protein).
HostSeq: A Canadian consortium collecting genetic data to identify factors associated with COVID-19
The HostSeq platform, established in April 2020, is a national collaboration of population-based studies investigating the genetic risk factors behind SARS-CoV-2 infection and health outcomes associated with it.