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COVID-19 Immunity Task Force

The COVID-19 Immunity Task Force is a Canadian initiative intended to organize resources to study natural and vaccine-induced immunity to SARS-CoV-2.

It was launched in April 2020 by the Government of Canada.1) The group is jointly funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).2)

Research

As of March 23, 2022, the CITF is supporting 112 COVID-19 studies across Canada.3)

COVERED study

COVERED is a COVID-19 vaccine registry for pregnant and breastfeeding women across Canada.4)

It is being run at the University of British Columbia in partnership with Canadian Vaccine Safety Network (CANVAS), the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Women's Health Research Institute.5) The lead researcher is Deborah Money.

An additional “Immune-Substudy” was launched at the British Columbia Women's Hospital.6)

Ontario study

This second study links information collected from BORN Ontario, which collects data from every baby born in Ontario, with the province’s vaccination registry from the Ontario Ministry of Health (COVaxON). Deshayne Fell is the lead researcher.

Affiliations

The secretariat for the task force is housed at the McGill University School of Population and Global Health.7)

Team

Name Position Affiliation Notes
David Naylor Co-chair University of Toronto -
Catherine Hankins Co-chair McGill University -
Timothy Evans Executive Director McGill University -
Heather Hannah Executive Committee Northwest Territories -
Mona Nemer Executive Committee; Government of Canada representative Government of Canada Chief Science Advisor of Canada
Howard Njoo Executive Committee Public Health Agency of Canada Deputy Chief Public Health Officer and Interim Vice-President, Infectious Disease Programs Branch
Gina Ogilvie Executive Committee, Leadership Team University of British Columbia, BC Centre for Disease Control, Women's Health Research Institute -
Jutta Preiksaitis Executive Committee, Leadership Group University of Alberta -
Gail Tomblin Murphy Executive Committee, Leadership Group Nova Scotia Health Authority -
Paul van Caeseele Executive Committee, Leadership Group Cadham Provincial Laboratory, Manitoba Health, University of Manitoba -
Theresa Tam Government of Canada representative Public Health Agency of Canada -
Stephen Lucas Government of Canada representative Health Canada -
Vivek Goel Leadership Group University of Waterloo -
Philippe Gros Leadership Group McGill University -
Scott Halperin Leadership Group Dalhousie University, Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN) -
Charu Kaushic Leadership Group Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), McMaster University -
James D. Kellner Leadership Group University of Calgary, Alberta Health Services -
Susan Kirkland Leadership Group Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Health Authority -
Gary Kobinger Leadership Group Laval University -
Mel Krajden Leadership Group University of British Columbia (UBC), BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) -
Christie Lutsiak Leadership Group Alberta Health -
Richard Massé Leadership Group Government of Quebec -
Allison McGeer Leadership Group University of Toronto -
Deborah Money Leadership Group University of British Columbia, Women's Health Research Institute -
Shelly Bolotin Provincial & Territorial representative Public Health Ontario (PHO) -
Marguerite Cameron Provincial & Territorial representative PEI Health and Wellness -
Catherine Elliot Provincial & Territorial representative Government of Yukon -
Richard Garceau Provincial & Territorial representative Dr. Georges L Dumont University Hospital Centre -
Jessica Minion Provincial & Territorial representative Saskatchewan Health Authority -
Michael Patterson Provincial & Territorial representative Government of Nunavut -
Nathan Stall - Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, CanCOVID, Sinai Health System, Ontario Liberal Party Received funding from the Task Force for geriatric research.8)
1) , 7)
COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. (2021, October 21). McGill University School of Population and Global Health. https://archive.ph/o6M3j
2)
Nelson, M. (2020, September 10). Canada’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force partners with CIHR to support 22 studies investigating COVID-19. COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. https://www.covid19immunitytaskforce.ca/canadas-covid-19-immunity-task-force-partners-with-cihr-to-support-22-studies-investigating-covid-19-2/
3)
Evans, T. (2022, March 23). The importance of pediatric vaccination. COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. https://web.archive.org/web/20220403062829/https://www.covid19immunitytaskforce.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CITF_CanCOVID_6_Pediatric-vaccination_2022_EN_FINAL-2.pdf
4)
Burns, R., Logothetis, P., & Rolfsen, E. (2021, May 19). Canadian researchers studying effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy. COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. https://archive.ph/21EZi
5)
Home | Canadian COVID-19 Vaccine Registry for Pregnant and Lactating Individuals. University of British Columbia. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from https://archive.ph/REwD1
6)
Immune Sub-Study | Canadian COVID-19 Vaccine Registry for Pregnant and Lactating Individuals. University of British Columbia. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from https://covered.med.ubc.ca/immune-sub-study/
8)
Stall, N. M. (2021, January 29). Declaration of Interest. Wayback Machine; Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. https://web.archive.org/web/20210425034556/https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Declaration-of-Interest_Science-Table_Nathan-Stall-2.pdf

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