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]

Purpose[edit]

The CITF was to use a serology "to survey representative samples of the population for the presence of antibodies to the virus".^[3] 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.^[4]

Task Force membership[edit]

The CITF Board is composed of doctors, infectious disease experts, and policy makers.^[1]^[5]

Leadership Group[edit]

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.^[6] 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

References[edit]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "WHO set pandemic response back by 2-3 weeks, says doctor on new federal task force". CBC. 23 April 2020.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Prime Minister announces new support for COVID-19 medical research and vaccine development". Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. 23 April 2020.
^ "Canada launches serological testing initiative to help manage COVID-19". McGill University Institutional Communications. 23 April 2020.
^ "Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG)". COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
^ Labonne, Simon. "Leadership Group". COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Archived from the original on 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
^ Letterhead of CCITF: List of Members - CCITF Leadership Group (Tweet photo from C. David Naylor)

External links[edit]

Covid-19 Test Kits

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[cbcvk-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "WHO set pandemic response back by 2-3 weeks, says doctor on new federal task force". CBC. 23 April 2020.

[pmgc-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Prime Minister announces new support for COVID-19 medical research and vaccine development". Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. 23 April 2020.

[3] "Canada launches serological testing initiative to help manage COVID-19". McGill University Institutional Communications. 23 April 2020.

[4] "Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG)". COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2023-04-23.

[5] Labonne, Simon. "Leadership Group". COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Archived from the original on 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-03-31.

[cdn-6] Letterhead of CCITF: List of Members - CCITF Leadership Group (Tweet photo from C. David Naylor)

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