CITF Scientific Meeting
Breakout session presentations

We held the CITF Scientific Meeting in Vancouver, B.C., in early March 2023. The goal was to share results from CITF-funded studies and to discuss lessons learned as well as the way forward. Here, we share with you many of the breakout session presentations given during the meeting, categorized by session theme.

Pan-Canadian serosurveillance

Monitoring both infection-acquired and vaccine-induced seroprevalence over time has been, and will continue to be, key to understanding the spread of the virus and identifying populations potentially more susceptible to infection, severe disease, and death. The study teams presenting have been measuring seroprevalence in different age groups and regions, during distinct phases of the pandemic, and as a function of the number of vaccine doses received, offering a broad view of seroprevalence across the country.

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Accelerated research in long-term care settings

Older Canadians, especially those living in long-term care (LTC) homes, remain more vulnerable to reinfection, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 than the general population. Studying their immune responses to infections and to vaccines has helped to inform appropriate timing for booster vaccines in this older population. In addition, wastewater surveillance has proven to provide a useful early detection system for outbreaks in and around LTC homes.

The importance of community engagement in research

Social and economic inequities, and the related unequal access to health resources, are risk factors for higher percentages of SARS-CoV-2 infections and severe outcomes from COVID-19. This session focusses on several priority populations including Indigenous communities, Black Canadians, and isolated or vulnerable groups. Presenters will address the importance of developing relationships that connect researchers with community leaders and local health leads and foster trust. Partnering with communities is key to furthering COVID-19 research and improving vaccine confidence.

Seroprevalence and effects of COVID-19 on children and adolescents

Since the Omicron wave, more children and adolescents have developed COVID-19, causing a rise in pediatric hospitalizations. Ongoing monitoring of the serological status of children is important, particularly in the context of new variants of concern, low vaccine coverage, and low uptake of testing. This session will address pediatric seroprevalence and reasons to encourage pediatric vaccination.

Vaccine responses in people with compromised immune systems

Studies on vaccine safety and effectiveness in immune-compromised individuals are essential to inform recommendations on the timing of booster doses and/or any special interventions. People with poor immune function are at a particularly high risk of severe COVID-19 due to their underlying medical conditions and/or immune-suppressant medications. In this session, presenters will review key data for people living with HIV, cancer, and autoimmune diseases, as well as for people on immune suppressive medications, to address relevant issues.

Breakthroughs in laboratory and in research infrastructure

Multiple platforms and novel technologies have been created over the past three years to aid Canadian clinical and research efforts in monitoring immune responses to SARS-CoV-2. Presenters in this session will elaborate on some of the breakthroughs that have been crucial to ensuring Canadian researchers have the necessary tools, infrastructure, resources, and procedural pipelines to enable rapid responses to this pandemic and any future one.

Immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 variants and hybrid immunity

As the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved and new SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged, incidents of reinfection and of breakthrough infections among vaccinated individuals have risen worldwide. With public health restrictions lifted, people have been reverting to their pre-pandemic behaviour. This session will address the strength and durability of immunity (whether hybrid, infection-acquired, or vaccine-induced) to better inform public policy and recommendations for Canadians.

COVID-19 and vaccine effects on pregnancy and infants

Pregnancy was recognized early in the pandemic as a potential risk factor for severe outcomes due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Research has since proven two things: that COVID-19 is indeed more severe in many pregnant people and that pregnant people and their babies respond just as well as the general population to COVID-19 vaccines. This session will address a broad spectrum of population research on COVID-19 and pregnancy, addressing infections, outcomes, vaccine safety, and vaccine uptake.

Methodologic approaches to improving seroprevalence estimates

Assessing seroprevalence has been the essential methodology used to determine the extent and fully understand the trends in immunity resulting from both infection and vaccination in Canada and around the world. Since the beginning of the pandemic, standardization, effective testing methods, and access to data have been key to efficient analysis and response. This session will present data, advantages, and limitations of new serological tests; ways to effectively manage high-throughput testing facilities during a pandemic; and the importance and lessons learned from biobanks.

Vaccine safety and effectiveness

Vaccines have been crucial in protecting Canadians and people worldwide from severe COVID-19. Some presenters will focus on vaccine safety through the identification of potential side effects, while others will address vaccine efficacy and the protection conferred by subsequent doses, including the most recent bivalent booster vaccines.

Post-COVID conditions

“Post-COVID Conditions” It is now estimated that nearly 1 in 10 people affected by COVID-19 (hospitalized and non-hospitalized individuals) may develop long COVID, which amounts to a global burden of over 16 million people. While the underlying cause of long COVID remains largely unknown, it is evident that this condition can affect individuals of all ages and is not predicated on how severe the initial COVID-19 case was. Presenters will discuss their findings in relation to the prevalence of Post-COVID Conditions in Canada, long COVID patient characteristics, and the impact of vaccination after long COVID.

Responding to diverse populations

Specific subpopulations have been affected in different ways by the COVID-19 pandemic. This session features studies that focus on populations as diverse as people experiencing homelessness, incarcerated individuals, people admitted to emergency units, and 2SLGBTQ+ communities. These studies all aim to better understand the different risks faced by specific populations and to identify some explanatory factors.