Biology:COVID-19 Immunity Task Force
The COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) is one of the Government of Canada's early efforts to track the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.[1] An external, dedicated secretariat was established in order to maximize the efficiency of the CITF's work.[2]
Task Force membership
The CITF Board is composed of doctors, infectious disease experts, and policy makers.[1][3]
Leadership Group
Executive Committee
- David Naylor, Co-chair
- Catherine Hankins, Co-chair
- Timothy Evans, Executive Director
- Heather Hannah
- Mona Nemer
- Howard Njoo
- Gina Ogilvie
- Jutta Preiksaitis
- Gail Tomblin Murphy
- Paul Van Caeseele
Government of Canada representatives
- Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada
- Mona Nemer, Chief Science Advisor of Canada
- Stephen Lucas, Deputy Minister of Health of Canada
Members
The CCITF leadership group expanded on 2 May 2020.[4] Its additional members as of March 2022 are:
Provincial & Territorial representatives
- Shelly Bolotin, Ontario
- Marguerite Cameron, Prince Edward Island
- Catherine Elliott, Yukon
- Richard Garceau, New Brunswick
- Heather Hannah, Northwest Territories
- Mel Krajden, British Columbia
- Christie Lutsiak, Alberta
- Richard Massé, Quebec
- Jessica Minion, Saskatchewan
- Michael Patterson, Nunavut
- Gail Tomblin Murphy, Nova Scotia
- Paul Van Caeseele, Manitoba
Purpose and goals
The CITF was to use a serology "to survey representative samples of the population for the presence of antibodies to the virus".[5] Trudeau's press release on 23 April 2020, on the initiation of the CCITF listed several goals it would help to achieve notably that it would:[2]
| “ | establish priorities and oversee the coordination of a series of country-wide blood test surveys that will tell us how widely the virus has spread in Canada and provide reliable estimates of potential immunity and vulnerabilities in Canadian populations. | ” |
A Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG) was also established within the CITF to monitor the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines made available in Canada.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "WHO set pandemic response back by 2-3 weeks, says doctor on new federal task force". CBC. 23 April 2020. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/naylor-china-who-data-trust-1.5543281.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Prime Minister announces new support for COVID-19 medical research and vaccine development". Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. 23 April 2020. https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/04/23/prime-minister-announces-new-support-covid-19-medical-research-and.
- ↑ Labonne, Simon. "Leadership Group" (in en-CA). https://www.covid19immunitytaskforce.ca/leadership-group/.
- ↑ Letterhead of CCITF: List of Members - CCITF Leadership Group (Tweet photo from C. David Naylor)
- ↑ "Canada launches serological testing initiative to help manage COVID-19". McGill University Institutional Communications. 23 April 2020. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/canada-launches-serological-testing-initiative-help-manage-covid-19-321802.
- ↑ "Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG)" (in en-CA). https://www.covid19immunitytaskforce.ca/vaccine-surveillance-reference-group-vsrg/.
External links
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