Pan-Canadian studies investigate why COVID-19 has been so devastating to long-term care facility residents and staff
Long-term care facilities have been disproportionately burdened by COVID-19, accounting for about 60% of COVID-19 deaths nationwide, 70% if retirement homes are included. The Government of Canada, through its COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF), is providing a total of $8.5 million to support two studies investigating various aspects of immunity and people’s response to vaccines within long-term care facilities. These studies are recruiting participants in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
Study examines occupational risks associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection rates, transmission risk, and immunity in dental schools across Canada
Dental and dental hygiene students and staff remain among the few groups on-site nearly daily at universities and colleges across Canada. Their continued presence on campus and the nature of the dental work itself increases their risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. The CITF is supporting a pan-Canadian study investigating SARS-CoV-2 infection rates, transmission risks, and immune system responses of those working in dental clinics, laboratories, and offices in universities.
New study will examine if inequities are contributing to an increased risk of COVID-19 within the Black Canadian population
Data from multiple countries including the US, UK and Canada indicate a disproportionate number of individuals of African ancestry are contracting SARS-CoV-2 and afflicted with more severe COVID-19 than people of other races. The CITF is supporting a study investigating how many people in Black Canadian communities have had SARS-CoV-2 and the risk factors associated with both contracting the infection and having poor outcomes, including hospitalization and death.
New studies look at COVID-19 antibodies among Canadian correctional populations
The CITF is supporting four studies of correctional service employees and individuals incarcerated in Canadian correctional facilities. The studies will determine how many of these individuals have antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and involve several federal institutions across the country and provincial prisons in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Quebec.
Two studies look at SARS-CoV-2 transmission and immunity among students and staff on university campuses
While many university classes across Canada are being held online, some programs require in-person learning and access to on- and off-campus research and learning facilities. The CITF is supporting two research studies looking at SARS-CoV-2 transmission and immunity on university campuses. Researchers at the University of Waterloo will investigate the immune response and how the virus affects people of different sexes, blood types, as well as age and ethnic groups. Researchers from Queen’s University will investigate students from the Faculty of Health Sciences to identify asymptomatic carriers and to evaluate antibody levels over a eight months to see whether they can be linked to immunity.
Two studies to determine the impact of COVID-19 vaccines in residents of long-term care facilities in BC and Alberta
Residents of long-term care facilities are at increased risk for serious outcomes of COVID-19. As vaccines are now being offered to this priority population, the Government of Canada is investing over $2 million through Canada's COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) for two studies in British Columbia (BC) and Alberta which will investigate how the immune [...]
How can we better protect paramedics from COVID-19? Researchers aim to find out
Study will also determine how many paramedics have had COVID-19 and will investigate how long antibodies last Paramedics are at high risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, but details of what puts them most at risk of exposure have not yet been studied. This is why the Government of Canada, through its [...]
Latest findings reveal few Canadian adults have antibodies to SARS-Cov-2
Canadian Blood Services and the CITF’s collaborative nine-province SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study for October thru November suggests that 1.5 per cent of healthy Canadians had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2. The highest levels were recorded in Western Canada but mass national vaccination remains only route to achieving herd immunity.
Will one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine be enough?
OP-ED, CHARU KAUSHIC AND CATHERINE HANKINS, CONTRIBUTED TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL, JANUARY 7, 2021 Charu Kaushic is a professor of pathology and molecular medicine at McMaster University. Catherine Hankins is a professor of public and population Health at McGill University. Both are members of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. This year is starting on an [...]
Canadian research teams find clues into SARS-CoV-2 immunity
Two research teams supported by Canada’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) are reporting initial findings about immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which we are announcing just as vaccine roll out has begun. One of the teams, led by researchers at the University of Toronto, has had its initial work studying the immune [...]
Study finds few youths on the West Island and in the Plateau have had diagnosed cases of COVID-19, but mental health is an issue
Preliminary results from a study underway in Montreal suggest 41% of 1,000 children surveyed so far, largely based on participants from the West Island and the Plateau, have gone to get tested to see if they were infected at the time with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Of those, 99% tested negative. In this surveyed group, children from 10 households also had family members test positive for SARS-CoV-2, yet only one child from these households tested positive.
The COVENANT Study: COVID-19 Cohort Study of People Experiencing Homelessness in Toronto
COVID-19 poses a serious health threat to people experiencing homelessness. Homelessness puts people at high risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, as shelters are an ideal environment for the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. More than 235,000 Canadians experience homelessness every year. Recruitment starts soon for the COVENANT study, which will provide critical [...]